Diana

Meanings

Proper Noun

• The daughter of Latona and Jupiter, and twin sister of Apollo; the goddess of the hunt, associated wild animals and the forest or wilderness, and an emblem of chastity; the Roman counterpart of Artemis.
• 78 Diana, a main belt asteroid.
• A female given name from Latin.

Noun

• A Diana monkey.

Origin

• Borrowed from Late Latin Diāna, short form of Latin Dīāna, derived by syncope from Old Latin Dīvāna, equivalent to dīvus + --āna; roughly akin to Proto-Italic *deiwā + Proto-Indo-European *-nós. Originally an Old Italic divinity of light and the moon; later identified as the Roman counterpart to Greek goddess Artemis. Cognate of , similarly syncopated from older Ancient Greek Διϝωνη, whence via Latin Diōne is derived English Dione used in various ways across astronomy, chemistry, biology, and as a given name. From the same root Proto-Indo-European *dyúh₃onh₂- also potentially cognate to English June via Latin Iūnō.