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But Mond in German is masculine? At least I think that's where Moon came from, Germanic. Seems closer than Lune. Sun is feminine, Sonne. Not sure whether Engli

But Mond in German is masculine? At least I think that's where Moon came from, Germanic. Seems closer than Lune. Sun is feminine, Sonne. Not sure whether English got it from Soleil. I think it's hard in English. If you want to do this gender-guessing experiment, pick a language with genders and ask for a speaker to place a neologism. I find in Danish I pick the same as everyone else, somehow. There's probably some rule that they don't tell you at school but it's in people's minds.

beedeebeedee 3y ago
> Mond in German is masculine ... Sun is feminine, Sonne Those are derived from old Germanic deities (Sunna, Mani). I think the inversion of gender between German and Latin/Greek mythologies makes sense if you consider the latitude of the people. In the high latitudes, the sun is warm and gentle while the moon is present during cold nights that can kill you. Closer to the equator, the sun will kill you and the moon is gentle. I think they just gendered them based on the idea that women are gentle and men are hostile.
FeteCommuniste 3y ago
In many languages gender is now associated with the form of a word (e.g. all "-ité" and "-tion" words are feminine in French) much more than with the word's meaning. The made-up but plausibly French words "ternigation" and "vivalité" would definitely be feminine.
ghaff 3y ago
Online etymology sources say that Sun comes from Germanic Sonne by way of Old English. Latin was Solis so that's presumably where Soleil cane from. No idea if the beginning S from both Germanic and Romance sources is just coincidence or if they're both diverged from a common proto-Indo European source.