diana

Original form with long i Dīāna, derived by syncope from Dīvāna, equivalent to dīvus + -āna; some inscriptions read Deiana or Deana, akin to deus + -āna; both feminine stem words dīva and dea meaning “goddess” derived from Old Latin deiva, from Proto-Italic *deiwā from Proto-Indo-European *deywós from *dyew- (“heaven, day sky; to shine”). See Old Latin Diēspiter, a primitive form of Iuppiter, formed by appending a suffix to Latin diēs, cognate to both dīvus and deus. Diana is also called Iāna (“Jana”), analogous to procope of Old Latin Diovis into Iovis (“Jove”). The form Dīviāna occurs in Varro's attempt to explain the etymology of the name, with the now-discredited explanation that "quod luna in altitudinem et latitudinem simul <i>t, Diviana, appellata"; the intention seems to be to derive the name from dēviō (“stray, deviate”), from via (“road”). If Dīviāna was a genuinely used variant form (rather than a hypothetical form proposed as a precursor), it appears to represent a univerbation dīva + Iāna, literally “Goddess Jana”. Compare Attic Greek Δῐώνη (Dĭṓnē), Doric Greek Διώνᾱ (Diṓnā), syncopated from Διϝωνᾱ (Diwōnā), from a shared root, whence by analogical formation also evolved Latin Iūnō(nis).