View source for Ehwaz

{{Short description|Elder Futhark rune}}
{{More sources needed|date=December 2009}}
{{Infobox rune
| lang1 = pg| lang2 = oe
| name1 = '''*Ehwaz'''
| name2 = '''E(o)h'''
| meaning12 = "[[horse]]"
| shape12 =[[File:Runic letter ehwaz.svg|x50px|class=skin-invert-image]]
| unicode hex12 =16D6
| transliteration12 ='''e'''
| transcription12 =''e'' 
| IPA12 = {{IPA|[e(ː)]}}
| position12 = 19
}}
{{Contains special characters|Runic}}
'''{{lang|gem-x-proto|*Ehwaz}}''' is the reconstructed [[Proto-Germanic]] name of the [[Elder Futhark]] ''e'' [[rune]] {{Runic|ᛖ}}, meaning "[[horse]]" (cognate to Latin {{lang|la|[[Equus (genus)|equus]]}}, Gaulish {{lang|xtg|epos}}, Tocharian B {{lang|txb|yakwe}}, Sanskrit {{transliteration|sa|[[ashva|aśva]]}}, Avestan {{transliteration|ae|aspa}} and [[Old Irish]] {{lang|sga|ech}}). In the [[Anglo-Saxon runes|Anglo-Saxon futhorc]], it is continued as {{Runic|ᛖ}} {{lang|ang|eh}} (properly {{lang|ang|eoh}}, but spelled without the diphthong to avoid confusion with {{Runic|ᛇ}} {{lang|ang|[[Eihwaz|ēoh]]}} "yew").

The Proto-Germanic vowel system was asymmetric and unstable. The difference between the long vowels expressed by {{Runic|ᛖ}} ''e'' and {{Runic|ᛇ}} ''ï'' (sometimes transcribed as {{lang|gem-x-proto|*ē<sub>1</sub>}} and {{lang|gem-x-proto|*ē<sub>2</sub>}}) was lost. The [[Younger Futhark]] continues neither, lacking a letter expressing ''e'' altogether. The Anglo-Saxon futhorc faithfully preserved all Elder futhorc staves, but assigned new sound values to the redundant ones, futhorc {{lang|ang|ēoh}} expressing a diphthong.

In the case of the [[Gothic alphabet]], where the names of the runes were re-applied to letters derived from the Greek alphabet, the letter {{lang|got|𐌴}} ''e'' was named {{transliteration|got|aíƕus}} "horse" as well (note that in Gothic orthography, {{angbr|aí}} represents monophthongic /e/).

The rune may have been an original innovation, or it may have been adapted from the [[History of the Latin alphabet#Classical Latin period|classical Latin alphabet's]] ''E'',{{cn|date=May 2024}} or from the [[Greek alphabet|Greek alphabet's]] ''H''.<ref>{{Citation | publisher = Uni Frankfurt | last = Gippert | first = Jost | url = http://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/didact/idg/germ/runealph.htm | title = The Development of Old Germanic Alphabets | access-date = 2007-03-21 | archive-date = 2021-02-25 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210225051327/http://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/didact/idg/germ/runealph.htm | url-status = live }}.</ref>

==Anglo-Saxon rune poem==
The Anglo-Saxon [[rune poem]] has:
:{{Runic|ᛖ}} {{lang|ang|Eh bẏþ for eorlum æþelinga ƿẏn,}}
:   {{lang|ang|hors hofum ƿlanc, ðær him hæleþ ẏmb[e]}}
:   {{lang|ang|ƿelege on ƿicgum ƿrixlaþ spræce}}
:   {{lang|ang|and biþ unstẏllum æfre frofur.}}

:"The horse is a joy to princes in the presence of warriors.
:   A steed in the pride of its hoofs,
:   when rich men on horseback bandy words about it;
:   and it is ever a source of comfort to the restless."

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Runes}}

[[Category:Runes]]


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