Uath
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| Ogham letters | |||
| Aicme Beithe | Aicme Muine | ||
| ᚁ | Beith | ᚋ | Muin |
| ᚂ | Luis | ᚌ | Gort |
| ᚃ | Fearn | ᚍ | nGéadal |
| ᚄ | Sail | ᚎ | Straif |
| ᚅ | Nion | ᚏ | Ruis |
| Aicme hÚatha | Aicme Ailme | ||
| ᚆ | Uath | ᚐ | Ailm |
| ᚇ | Dair | ᚑ | Onn |
| ᚈ | Tinne | ᚒ | Úr |
| ᚉ | Coll | ᚓ | Eadhadh |
| ᚊ | Ceirt | ᚔ | Iodhadh |
| Forfeda | |||
| ᚕ | Éabhadh | ||
| ᚖ | Ór | ||
| ᚗ | Uilleann | ||
| ᚘ | Ifín | ᚚ | Peith |
| ᚙ | Eamhancholl | ||
Uath, Old Irish Úath, hÚath, is the sixth letter of the Ogham alphabet, ᚆ, transcribed as ʜ according to manuscript tradition, but unattested in actual inscriptions. The kenning "a meet of hounds is huath" identifies the name as úath "horror, fear", although the Auraicept glosses "white-thorn":
- comdal cuan huath (.i. sce L. om); no ar is uathmar hi ara deilghibh "a meet of hounds is huath (i.e. white-thorn); or because it is formidable (uathmar) for its thorns."
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.
[edit] References
- McManus, Damian. A Guide to Ogam, Maynooth 1991.
