Wurdahuzdą: Proto-Germanic dictionary — *austrōmēnōþsScott K. ShayWardja Presshttps://protogermanic.org/pgmc_austrōmēnōþs
Single-entry extract from the dictionary. Cross-references to other entries point to their identifiers in the full dictionary.
A Gothic Etymological DictionaryWinfred P.LehmannBrill1986aThe reckoning of timeBedeTrans. by Faith WallisLiverpoolLiverpool University Press1999Eostre and the Matronae AustriahenaeRichardSermonFolklore 133(2)139–1572022Ēosturmōnaþ/ĒastermōnaþAprilōstarmānōdApril, Easter monthAprīlis mensismonth of April
nounmasculineconsonant stemEaster month; the month corresponding approximately to April in the early Germanic calendarFrom *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.