This is a reply within a larger thread: view the whole thread

Arthurian legend link - Nimue
in reply to a message by nimue
Discussion regarding names for the Lady of the Lake:http://www.britannia.com/history/biographies/nimue.html
vote up1vote down

Replies

Firstly, Nimue: I am a King Arthur fan, so naturally I have investigated the etymologies of just about every name of people, places, or things in the Arthurian legends. Nimue has several possible roots: The prevelant idea is that it comes from greek "numpha", meaning nymph. However, these are to more likely ideas. The first is from Niam, an irish spirit whose father was Mannan MacLir, the god of the ocean. She is described as having golden hair and frolicking in the flowers. However, another theory states that it is from Latin, "nimbôsus", meaning stormy, because some accounts of King Arthur say she is from Sicily. I prefer the Niam root, but Nimbosus makes sense, too.
Secondly, Dodi is a name that my research has been fruitless toward. In Hungarian, a "dodzsem" is a bumbercar and a "dodó" is a dodo bird, but obviously there is no connection.
vote up1vote down