| Name | Proto-Germanic | Old English | Old Norse |
|---|---|---|---|
| *Fehu | Feoh | Fé | |
| "livestock →(loose) wealth" | |||
| Shape | Elder Futhark | Futhorc | Younger Futhark |
 | |||
| Unicode | ᚠ U+16A0 | ||
| Transliteration | f | ||
| Transcription | f | f | f |
| IPA | [f] | ||
| Position in rune-row | 1 | ||
Fehu is thereconstructedProto-Germanic name for theruneᚠ (Old Norse:fé;Old English:feoh), found as the first rune in allfutharks (runic alphabets starting with F, U, Þ, Ą, R, K), i.e. theGermanic Elder Futhark, theAnglo-Frisian Futhark and theNorse Younger Futhark, with continued use in the latermedieval runes,early modern runes andDalecarlian runes.[citation needed]
It corresponds to the letterf in theLatin alphabet, but it can periodically shift into the sound value ofv (compare "leaf" and "leaves").[citation needed]
The shape of the rune is likely based onEtruscanv ⟨𐌅⟩ ⟨
⟩, like GreekDigamma ⟨Ϝ⟩ and Latin ⟨F⟩ ultimately fromPhoenicianwaw ⟨
⟩.[citation needed]
The change of the bistaves pointing upward could stem from visually diverging it from the runeᚨ, as well as linking it visually to the horns of cattle (see§ Name).[citation needed]
The root name is an ancient word for "livestock". CompareSwedish:fä ("livestock, animal"),Dutch:vee ("livestock, cattle"),German:Vieh ("livestock"),Old Norse:fé ("livestock, loose assets"),Old English:feoh ("livestock, money"),*fehu ("livestock"),Latin:pecū,pecūs ("livestock"),Sanskrit:पशु (paṧu, "livestock, cattle"). By extension, it also means '(loose) wealth' and thereof, thus surviving asfee in English with the meaning of "payment compensating for rights or services".[citation needed]
TheProto-Germanic name has beenreconstructed as*fehu, with the meaning of "livestock, cattle" and by extension "wealth".[1]
The corresponding letter of theGothic alphabet is ⟨𐍆⟩ ⟨f⟩, calledfaihu. Such correspondence between all rune poems and the Gothic letter name, as well, is uncommon, and gives the reconstructed name of theOld Futhark a high degree of certainty.[citation needed]
The name is recorded in all threerune poems:[2][full citation needed]
ᚠ Fé vældr frænda róge;
føðesk ulfr í skóge.
Fee causes strife amongstkin;
the wolf lives in the forest.
ᚠ Fé er frænda róg · ok flæðar viti
ok grafseiðs gata
Fee is strife of kin and beacon of floods (the sea)
and grave-saithe's path (serpent's path).
ᚠ Feoh bẏþ frofur · fira gehƿẏlcum;
sceal ðeah manna gehƿẏlc · miclun hẏt dælan
gif he ƿile for drihtne · domes hleotan.
Fee is a comfort to every man;
yet must everyone bestow it freely,
if they wish to gain honour in the sight of the Lord.