Ger en Gar

Antid Oto aorta at HOME.NL
Mon Aug 30 20:40:21 CEST 2010


REPLY TO: D66 at nic.surfnet.nl

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Migration_Period_spear

Ger

The word kêr or gêr is attested since the 8th century (Hildebrandslied 37,
Heliand 3089).

Gar and cognates is a frequent element in Germanic names, male Hrothgar, Holger,
Ansgar, Gernot, Rüdiger, Gerhart, Gerald, female Gertrut, Gerlint.

The term survives into Modern German as Ger or Gehr (Grimm 1854) with a
generalized meaning of "gusset" besides "spear". In contemporary German, the
word is used exclusively in antiquated or poetic context, and a feminine Gehre
is used in the sense of "gusset".

Anglo-Saxon gar  rune

Gar "spear" is also the name of ᚸ, a rune of the late Anglo-Saxon futhorc. It is
not attested epigraphically, and first appears in 11th century manuscript
tradition. Phonetically, gar represents the /g/ sound. It is a modification of
the plain gyfu rune ᚷ.

Old English gâr means "spear", but the name of the rune likely echoes the rune
names ger, ear, ior: due to palatalization in Old English, the original g rune
(gyfu) could express either /j/ or /g/ (see yogh). The ger unambiguously
expressed /j/, and the newly introduced gar rune had the purpose of
unambiguously expressing /g/.

Gar is the 33rd and final rune in the row as given in Cotton Domitian A.ix.

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