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Ogham

The document discusses Ogham, an early medieval alphabet used to write the early Irish language. It provides the Old Irish name and meaning for each Ogham letter, many of which refer to trees. For example, Beithe means "birch-tree" and Dair means "oak." The document also discusses debates about the original values or sounds represented by some uncertain letters.

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Timothee
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83 views2 pages

Ogham

The document discusses Ogham, an early medieval alphabet used to write the early Irish language. It provides the Old Irish name and meaning for each Ogham letter, many of which refer to trees. For example, Beithe means "birch-tree" and Dair means "oak." The document also discusses debates about the original values or sounds represented by some uncertain letters.

Uploaded by

Timothee
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Ogham


 Beith, Old Irish Beithe means "birch-tree", cognate to Latin betula.
 Luis, Old Irish Luis is either related to luise "blaze" or lus "herb". The arboreal tradition
has caertheand "rowan".
 Fearn, Old Irish Fern means "alder-tree", Primitive Irish *wernā, so that the original value of the
letter was [w].
 Sail, Old Irish Sail means "willow-tree", cognate to Latin salix.
 Nion, Old Irish Nin means either "fork" or "loft". The arboreal tradition has uinnius "ash-tree".
 Uath, Old Irish Úath means úath "horror, fear", the arboreal tradition has "white-thorn". The
original etymology of the name, and the letter's value, are however unclear. McManus (1986)
suggested a value [y]. Peter Schrijver (see McManus 1991:37) suggested that if úath "fear" is
cognate with Latin pavere, a trace of PIE *p might have survived into Primitive Irish, but there is
no independent evidence for this.
 Dair, Old Irish Dair means "oak" (PIE *doru-).
 Tinne, Old Irish Tinne from the evidence of the kennings means "bar of metal, ingot". The
arboreal tradition has cuileand "holly".
 Coll, Old Irish Coll meant "hazel-tree", cognate with Welsh collen, correctly glossed
as cainfidh "fair-wood" ("hazel") by the arboreal interpretation. The Latin corylus is a possible
cognate.
 Ceirt, Old Irish Cert is cognate with Welsh perth "bush", Latin quercus "oak" (PIE *perkwos). It
was confused with Old Irish ceirt "rag", reflected in the kennings. The Auraicept
glosses aball"apple".
 Muin, Old Irish Muin: the kennings connect this name to three different words, muin "neck,
upper part of the back", muin "wile, ruse", and muin "love, esteem". The arboreal tradition
hasfinemhain "vine".
 Gort, Old Irish Gort means "field" (cognate to garden). The arboreal tradition has edind "ivy".
 nGéadal, Old Irish Gétal from the kennings has a meaning of "killing", maybe cognate
to gonid "slays", from PIE gwen-. The value of the letter in Primitive Irish, then, was a voiced
labiovelar, [ɡʷ]. The arboreal tradition glosses cilcach, "broom" or "fern".
 Straif, Old Irish Straiph means "sulphur". The Primitive Irish letter value is uncertain, it may
have been a sibilant different from s, which is taken by sail, maybe a reflex of /st/ or /sw/. The
arboreal tradition glosses draighin "blackthorn".
 Ruis, Old Irish Ruis means "red" or "redness", glossed as trom "elder".
 Ailm, Old Irish Ailm is of uncertain meaning, possibly "pine-tree". The Auraicept has crand giuis
.i. ochtach, "fir-tree" or "pinetree".
 Onn, Old Irish Onn means "ash-tree", although the Auraicept glosses aiten "furze".
 Úr, Old Irish Úr, based on the kennings, means "earth, clay, soil". The Auraicept
glosses fraech "heath".
 Eadhadh, Old Irish Edad of unknown meaning. The Auraicept glosses crand fir no
crithach "test-tree or aspen"
 Iodhadh, Old Irish Idad is of uncertain meaning, but is probably a form of ibhar "yew", which is
the meaning given to it in the arboreal tradition.

Of the forfeda, four are glossed by the Auraicept:

 Eabhadh, Old Irish Ebhadh with crithach "aspen";


 Ór, "gold" (from Latin aurum); the arboreal tradition has feorus no edind, "spindle tree or ivy"
 Uilleann, Old Irish Uilleand "elbow"; the arboreal tradition has edleand "honeysuckle"
 Pín, later Ifín, Old Irish Iphin with spinan no ispin "gooseberry or thorn".

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