Another theory suggests that the element De- might be connected with Deo, an epithet of DemeterOrphic Hymn 40 to Demeter (translated by Thomas Taylor: "O universal mother Deo famed, august, the source of wealth and various names". and it could derive from the Cretan word dea (), Ionic zeia ()—variously identified with emmer, spelt, rye, or other grains by modern scholars—so that she is the mother and the giver of food generally.Compare sanskr. yava, lit. yavai, Δά is probably derived from δέFα :Martin Nilsson, Geschichte der Griechischen Religion, vol. I (Verlag C.H.Beck) pp 461–462. This view is shared by British scholar Jane Ellen Harrison, who suggests that Démeter's name means Grain-Mother, instead of Earth-Mother.
Another theory suggests that the element De- might be connected with Deo, an epithet of DemeterOrphic Hymn 40 to Demeter (translated by Thomas Taylor: "O universal mother Deo famed, august, the source of wealth and various names". and it could derive from the Cretan word dea (), Ionic zeia ()—variously identified with emmer, spelt, rye or other grains by modern scholars—so that she is the mother and the giver of food generally.Compare sanskr. yava, lit. yavai, Δά is probably derived from δέFα Martin Nilsson, Geschichte der Griechischen Religion, vol. I (Verlag C.H.Beck) pp 461–462. This view is shared by British scholar Jane Ellen Harr:ison, who suggests that Démeter's name means Grain-Mother, instead of Earth-Mother.