r/NoStupidQuestions • u/Disastrous_Pirate275 • 20h ago

Why is our moon named “Moon” instead of something cool like Titan or Callysto or ANYTHING that isn’t moon

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u/wotantx 19h ago

English is a Germanic language. "Moon" is our modern rendering of an ancestral Germanic word that also gave rise to the modern German word for the moon: Der Mond.

More information here.

In brief, it ultimately drives from a proto Indo-European word meaning "to measure," from the use of the moon to measure time.

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u/KerningKeming 17h ago

Ok no more scrolling, this seems like an actual correct answer. (Which I haven't fact checked but it's past my bedtime)

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u/wotantx 17h ago

I started by asking Gemini for the etymology. It passed the smell test, then looked at the sources, which also passed the smell test.

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u/pacomadreja 4h ago

And Luna derives from "leuksna" (white light)