View source for Eihwaz

{{short description|The rune ᛇ}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2009}}
{{Infobox rune
| lang1 = pg| lang2 = oe
| name1 = '''*Ē<sub>2</sub>haz / *Ē<sub>2</sub>waz'''
| name2 = '''Ēoh'''
| meaning12 = "[[Taxus baccata|yew]]"
| shape12 =[[File:Runic_letter_iwaz.svg|x50px|class=skin-invert-image]]
| unicode hex12 =16C7
| transliteration1 = '''ï''' 
| transliteration2 = '''ï''' 
| transcription1 = ''ï'' 
| transcription2 = ''ï'' 
| IPA1 = {{IPA|[iː], [ç]?}}
| IPA2 = {{IPA|[iː], [x], [ç]}}
| position12 = 13
}}
{{Contains special characters|Runic}}
'''Eiwaz''' or '''Eihaz''' is the reconstructed [[Proto-Germanic language|Proto-Germanic]] name of the [[rune]] {{Runic|ᛇ}}, coming from a word for "[[Taxus baccata|yew]]". Two variants of the word are reconstructed for Proto-Germanic, ''*īhaz'' (''*ē<sub>2</sub>haz'', from [[Proto-Indo-European]] ''{{PIE|*eikos}}''), continued in Old English as {{lang|ang|ēoh}} (also {{lang|ang|īh}}), and  ''*īwaz'' (''*ē<sub>2</sub>waz'', from Proto-Indo-European ''{{PIE|*eiwos}}''), continued in Old English as ''īw'' (whence English ''{{lang|en|yew}}''). The latter is possibly an early loan from the Celtic, compare Gaulish ''ivos'', Breton ''ivin'', Welsh ''ywen'', Old Irish ''[[Iodhadh|ēo]]''. The common spelling of the rune's name, "'''Eihwaz'''", combines the two variants; strictly based on the Old English evidence, a spelling "Eihaz" would be more proper.

Following the convention of [[Wolfgang Krause]], the rune's standard [[transliteration]] today is ''ï'', though this designation is somewhat arbitrary as the rune's purpose and origin are still not well understood. Elmer Antonsen and Leo Connolly theorized that the rune originally stood for a Proto-Germanic vowel lost by the time of the earliest known runic inscriptions, though they put forth different vowels (Antonsen put forth {{IPA|[æː]}} while Connolly put forth {{IPA|[ɨ(ː)]}}). [[Ottar Grønvik]] proposed {{IPA|[ç]}}. Tineke Looijenga postulates the rune was originally a [[bindrune]] of ᛁ and ᛃ, having the sound value of {{IPA|[ji(ː)]}} or {{IPA|[i(ː)j]}}. <ref>{{cite news|last1=Mees|first1=Bernard|title=The Yew Rune, Yogh and Yew |date=2011 |publisher=University of Leeds |page=54}}</ref> Bengt Odenstedt suggests it may have been adapted from the [[History of the Latin alphabet#Classical Latin period|classical Latin alphabet's]] ''Z'',<ref>{{Citation | last = Odenstedt | first = Bengt | year = 1990 | title = On the Origin and Early History of the Runic Script, Typology and Graphic Variation in the Older Futhark | place = Uppsala | isbn = 91-85352-20-9}}.</ref> or ''Y''{{cn|date=May 2024}}.

The rune survives in the [[Anglo-Saxon runes|Anglo-Saxon futhorc]] as {{Runic|ᛇ}} ''Ēoh'' or ''Īh'' "yew" (note that ᛖ ''[[Ehwaz|eoh]]'' "horse" has a short diphthong). In futhorc inscriptions Ēoh appears as both a vowel around {{IPA|/iː/}}, and as a consonant around {{IPA|[x]}} and {{IPA|[ç]}}. As a vowel, Ēoh shows up in ''jïslheard'' (ᛡᛇᛋᛚᚻᛠᚱᛞ) on the Dover Stone. As a consonant, Ēoh shows up in ''almeïttig'' (ᚪᛚᛗᛖᛇᛏᛏᛁᚷ) on the Ruthwell Cross.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Waxenberger |first1=Gaby |title=Runes and Their Secrets: Studies in Runology |date=2006 |publisher=Museum Tusculanum Press |isbn=8763504286 |pages=391–394}}</ref>

The Anglo-Saxon [[rune poem]] reads:

:{{Runic|ᛇ}} {{lang|ang|Eoh bẏþ utan unsmeþe treoƿ,}}
:   {{lang|ang|heard hrusan fæst, hẏrde fẏres,}}
:   {{lang|ang|ƿẏrtrumun underƿreþẏd, ƿẏn on eþle.}}

: The yew is a tree with rough bark,
:   hard and fast in the earth, supported by its roots,
:   a guardian of flame and a joy on native land.

==See also==
*[[Wolfsangel]], similar shape to the Eihwaz rune

==References==
<references />

{{Runes}}

[[Category:Runes]]