Note 338 — Chapter VII · OBERON

Of the Teutonic Tiw, Dr. Taylor observes: “This word was used as the name of the Deity by all the Aryan nations. The Sanskrit deva, the Greek theos, the Latin deus, the Lithuanian dewas, the Erse dia, and the Welsh dew are all identical in meaning. The etymology of the word seems to point to the corruption of a pure monotheistic faith.” In Chaldaic and in Hebrew di meant the Omnipotent, in Irish de meant goddess, and in Cornish da or ta meant good. From the elementary form de, di, or da, one traces ramifications such as the Celtic dia or duw meaning a god. In Sanskrit Dya was the bright heavenly deity who may be equated with the Teutonic Tiu, whence our Tuesday, and with the Sanskrit Dyaus, which is equivalent to the Greek Zeus. The same radical d’ is the base of dies, and of dieu; of div the Armenian for day; of div the Sanskrit for shine; of Diva the Sanskrit for day. Our ancestors used to believe that the river Deva or Dee sprang from two sources, and that after a very short course its waters passed entire and unmixed through a large lake carrying out the same quantity of water that it brought in.

The word “Dee” seems widely and almost universally to have meant good or divine, and it may no doubt be equated with the “Saint Day” who figures so prominently in place-names, and the Christian Calendar.