*austrōmēnōþs

From *Austrǭ + *mēnōþs. The compound is directly reflected in Old English Ēosturmōnaþ/Ēastermōnaþ and Old High German ōstarmānōd; Bede explicitly equates Old English Eosturmonath with April and states that it had formerly been named after the goddess Ēostre, whose festival was celebrated in that month (Bede 1999: 54). Old English lexicographical evidence likewise identifies eastermōnaþ as Latin Aprīlis mensis. The Easter name itself is a specifically West Germanic formation: Lehmann (1986a: 271) notes Old English easter, eastron beside Old High German astra, ast(a)run and Bede’s association with Ēostre. The historicity and nature of Ēostre remain disputed, and recent scholarship cautions against assuming a demonstrably pan-Germanic goddess (Sermon 2022: 141).