Etymology and Namesakes
If Rhea is indeed Greek, most ancient etymologists derive Rhea ('Ρέα) by metathesis from έρα "ground", but a tradition embodied in Plato and in Chrysippus connected the word with "ῥέω" (rheo), "flow", "discharge", which is what LSJ supports. Alternatively, the name Rhea may be connected with words for the pomegranate, ῥόα, later ῥοιά. Mythographer Karl Kerenyi suggested that the consonance might ultimately derive from a deeper, pre-Indo-European language layer: indeed the sign combination ro-ja, which is someone with great power, is attested in Linear A.
The name of the bird species rhea is derived from the goddess name Rhea.
The second largest moon of the planet Saturn is named after her.
Read more about this topic: Rhea (mythology)
Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“Semantically, taste is rich and confusing, its etymology as odd and interesting as that of “style.” But while style—deriving from the stylus or pointed rod which Roman scribes used to make marks on wax tablets—suggests activity, taste is more passive.... Etymologically, the word we use derives from the Old French, meaning touch or feel, a sense that is preserved in the current Italian word for a keyboard, tastiera.”
—Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)