Fehu
Name | Proto-Germanic | Old English | Old Norse |
---|---|---|---|
*Fehu | Feoh | Fé | |
"livestock → (loose) wealth" | |||
Shape | Elder Futhark | Futhorc | Younger Futhark |
![]() | |||
Unicode | ᚠ U+16A0 | ||
Transliteration | f | ||
Transcription | f | f | f |
IPA | [f] | ||
Position in rune-row | 1 |
Fehu is the
It corresponds to the letter f in the Latin alphabet, but it can periodically shift into the sound value of v (compare "leaf" and "leaves").[citation needed]
Character
The shape of the rune is likely based on Etruscan v ⟨𐌅⟩ ⟨⟩, like Greek Digamma ⟨Ϝ⟩ and Latin ⟨F⟩ ultimately from Phoenician waw ⟨
⟩.[citation needed]
The change of the bistaves pointing upward could stem from visually diverging it from the rune
Name
The root name is an ancient word for "livestock". Compare
The Proto-Germanic name *fehu has been reconstructed, with the meaning of "livestock, cattle" and by extension "wealth".[1]
The corresponding letter of the Gothic alphabet is ⟨𐍆⟩ ⟨f⟩, called faihu. Such correspondence between all rune poems and the Gothic letter name, as well, is uncommon, and gives the reconstructed name of the Old Futhark a high degree of certainty.[citation needed]
Rune poems
The name is recorded in all three rune poems:[2][full citation needed]
ᚠ Fé vældr frænda róge; |
Fee causes strife amongst kin; |
ᚠ Fé er frænda róg · ok flæðar viti |
Fee is strife of kin and beacon of floods (the sea) saithe 's path (serpent's path).
|
ᚠ Feoh bẏþ frofur · fira gehƿẏlcum; |
Fee is a comfort to every man; |
See also
References
- ISBN 0-7141-8065-3
- ^ Original poems from the Rune Poem Page.