| Name | Proto-Germanic | Old English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| *Gebō | Gyfu | Gār | |
| 'gift' | 'gift' | "spear" | |
| Shape | Elder Futhark | Futhorc | |
 | |  | |
| Unicode | ᚷ U+16B7 | ᚷ U+16B7 | ᚸ U+16B8 |
| Transliteration | g | ȝ | g |
| Transcription | g | ȝ,g | g |
| IPA | [ɣ] | [g],[ɣ],[ʎ],[j] | [g] |
| Position in rune-row | 7 | 7 | 33 |
Gyfu is the name for theg-runeᚷ in theAnglo-Saxonrune poem, meaning 'gift' or 'generosity':
| Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem:[1] | English Translation: |
ᚷ Gẏfu gumena bẏþ gleng and herenẏs, | Generosity brings credit and honour, which support one's dignity; |
The corresponding letter of theGothic alphabet is 𐌲g, calledgiba. The same rune also appears in theElder Futhark, with a suggestedProto-Germanic name*gebô 'gift'. J. H. Looijenga speculates[2] that the rune is directly derived from LatinΧ, the pronunciation of which may have been similar to Germanicg in the 1st century, e.g., Gothic*reihs compared to Latinrex (as opposed to theEtruscan alphabet, where
/𐌗 had a value of[s]).
Thegyfu rune is sometimes used as a symbol within modernmysticism, particularly amongst those interested inCeltic mythology. It's described, for example, in the bookThe Runic Tarot as a representation of the giving-receiving balance infriendships.[3]
In addition togyfu, theAnglo-Saxon futhorc has thegār rune⟨ᚸ⟩, named after a species ofmedieval spear. It is attested epigraphically on the Ruthwell Cross, and also appears in 11th-century manuscript tradition. Phonetically,gār represents the /g/ sound. It is a modification of the plain gyfu runeᚷ.
Old English 'gār' means 'spear', but the name of the rune likely echoes the rune namesger,ear, ior: due to palatalization in Old English, the originalg rune (i.e., theGyfu rune⟨ᚷ⟩) could express either /j/ or /g/ (seeyogh). Theger unambiguously expressed /j/, and the newly[when?] introducedgar rune had the purpose of unambiguously expressing /g/.
Gār is the 33rd and final rune in the row as given inCotton Domitian A.ix.
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