Dair is the Irish name of the seventh letter of the Ogham alphabet, ᚇ, meaning "oak". The Old Irish: dair (Early Old Irish: daur) is related to Welsh derw(en) and to Breton derv(enn). Its Proto-Indo-European root was *dóru ("tree"), possibly a deadjectival noun of *deru-, *drew- ("hard, firm, strong, solid"). Its phonetic value is [d].[1]
| Ogham letters ᚛ᚑᚌᚐᚋᚁᚂᚃᚓᚇᚐᚅ᚜ | |||||
| Aicme Beithe ᚛ᚐᚔᚉᚋᚓᚁᚂᚃᚄᚅ᚜ |
Aicme Muine ᚛ᚐᚔᚉᚋᚓᚋᚌᚎᚏ᚜ | ||||
| ᚁ | [b] | Beith | ᚋ | [m] | Muin |
| ᚂ | [l] | Luis | ᚌ | [ɡ] | Gort |
| ᚃ | [w] | Fearn | ᚍ | [ɡʷ] | nGéadal |
| ᚄ | [s] | Sail | ᚎ | [st], [ts], [sw] | Straif |
| ᚅ | [n] | Nion | ᚏ | [r] | Ruis |
| Aicme hÚatha ᚛ᚐᚔᚉᚋᚓᚆᚇᚈᚉᚊ᚜ |
Aicme Ailme ᚛ᚐᚔᚉᚋᚓᚐᚑᚒᚓᚔ᚜ | ||||
| ᚆ | [j] | Uath | ᚐ | [a] | Ailm |
| ᚇ | [d] | Dair | ᚑ | [o] | Onn |
| ᚈ | [t] | Tinne | ᚒ | [u] | Úr |
| ᚉ | [k] | Coll | ᚓ | [e] | Eadhadh |
| ᚊ | [kʷ] | Ceirt | ᚔ | [i] | Iodhadh |
| Forfeda ᚛ᚃᚑᚏᚃᚓᚇᚐ᚜ (rare, sounds uncertain) |
᚛ᚕᚖᚗᚘᚚᚙ᚜ | ||||
| ᚕ | [ea], [k], [x], [eo] | Éabhadh | |||
| ᚖ | [oi] | Ór | |||
| ᚗ | [ui] | Uilleann | |||
| ᚘ | [ia] | Ifín | ᚚ | [p] | Peith |
| ᚙ | [x], [ai] | Eamhancholl | |||
Dair forms the basis of some first names in Irish Gaelic such as Daire, Dara, Darragh and Daragh.
Bríatharogam edit
In the medieval kennings, called Bríatharogam or Word Ogham the verses associated with Dair are:
ardam dosae - "highest tree" in the Word Ogham of Morann mic Moín
grés soír - "handicraft of a craftsman" in the Word Ogham of Mac ind Óc
slechtam soíre - "most carved of craftsmanship" in the Word Ogham of Culainn.[2]
References edit
- ^ McManus, Damian (1991). A Guide to Ogam. Maynooth Monographs. Vol. 4. Co. Kildare, Ireland: An Sagart. p. 37. ISBN 1-870684-75-3. ISSN 0790-8806.
This letter name clearly corresponds to Old Irish dair/daur, gen. daro 'oak-tree', Welsh derw(en) 'oak-tree(s)' from the root *deru-, whence the value /d/.
- ^ Auraicept na n-Éces Calder, George, Edinburgh, John Grant (1917), reprint Four Courts Press (1995), ISBN 1-85182-181-3
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