Cathubodua is the name of a Gaulishgoddess derived from a single inscription at MieussyinHaute Savoie, eastern France,[1] which actually reads ATHVBODVAE AVG SERVILIA TERENTIA S L M.[2] The text's restitution as Cathubodua depends on the assumptions that an initial C has been lost[3] and that the personal names ATEBODVAE, ATEBODVVS and ATEBODVI in 3 other inscriptions in modern Austria and Slovenia[4] are unrelated.
In the Gaulish language, the name Cathubodua is believed to mean battle-crow.[5][1] Etymological lexical forms reconstructed in the University of Wales' Proto-Celtic lexicon, suggest that the name is likely to be ultimately derived from the Proto-Celtic *Katu-bodwā, a word that could be interpreted as ‘battle-fighting’.[6][7] Nonetheless it is this second element *bodwā which appears to be the Proto-Celtic root of the later form of the name Badhbh.[citation needed] The masculine form *bodwos ('fighting') developed in Gaelic into Bodb.[citation needed]
She appears to be similar to the Irish goddess Badb Catha; under this identification, Badb Catha would foresee the fate of warriors before the battle.
