Beith (ᚁ) is the

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

name of the first letter (

"letter": sing.''fid'', pl.''feda'') of the

Ogham Ogham ( Modern Irish: ; mga, ogum, ogom, later mga, ogam, label=none ) is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to write the early Irish language (in the "orthodox" inscriptions, 4th to 6th centuries AD), and later the Old Irish langu ...

alphabet, meaning "

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...

". In

Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writt ...

, the letter name was Beithe, which is related to

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

''bedw(en)'', Breton ''bezv(enn)'', and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''betula''. Its

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo-E ...

root was *''gʷet-'' 'resin, gum'. Its phonetic value is .

Interpretation

The '' Auraicept na n-Éces'' contains the tale of the mythological origins of ''Beith'' ''Peith'' (ᚚ) is a later addition to the

Forfeda The ''forfeda'' (sing. ''forfid'') are the "additional" letters of the Ogham alphabet, beyond the basic inventory of twenty signs. Their name derives from ''fid'' ("wood", a term also used for Ogham letters) and the prefix ''for-'' ("additional") ...

, a variant of ''Beith'' with a phonetic value of It is also called ''beithe bog'' "soft ''beithe''", being considered a "soft" variant of . It replaced ''

Ifín Ifín (also spelled ''iphin'') is one of the '' forfeda'', the "additional" letters of the Ogham alphabet. Its sound value according to the '' Auraicept na n-Éces'', '' De dúilib feda'' and ''In Lebor Ogaim'', are ''io'', ''ía'', and ''ia ...

'' ᚘ, one of the "original" five Forfeda likely named initially ''pín'' (influenced by Latin ''pinus'') with an original value but whose phonetic value was altered to a vowel diphthong due to later medieval schematicism.

Bríatharogaim

In the medieval

kenning A kenning ( Icelandic: ) is a figure of speech in the type of circumlocution, a compound that employs figurative language in place of a more concrete single-word noun. Kennings are strongly associated with Old Norse-Icelandic and Old English po ...

s, called '' Bríatharogaim'' (sing. ''Bríatharogam'') or ''Word Oghams'' the verses associated with ''Beith'' are: ''Féocos foltchaín:'' "Withered foot with fine hair" in the ''Bríatharogam Morann mic Moín'' ''Glaisem cnis:'' "Greyest of skin" in the ''Bríatharogam Mac ind Óc'' ''Maise malach:'' "Beauty of the eyebrow" in the ''Bríatharogam Con Culainn''.

Notes

While medieval and modern neopagan arboreal glosses (i.e. tree names) for the Ogham have been widely popularised (even for fade whose names do not translate as trees), the Old Irish ''

In Lebor Ogaim ''In Lebor Ogaim'' ("The Book of Ogams"), also known as the Ogam Tract, is an Old Irish treatise on the ogham alphabet. It is preserved in R.I.A. MS 23 P 12 308–314 (AD 1390), T.C.D. H.3.18, 26.1–35.28 (AD 1511) and National Library of ...

'' (the ''Ogam Tract'') also lists many other word values classified by type (e.g. birds, occupations, companies) for each fid. The ''

filí The filí (singular: file) were members of an elite class of poets in Ireland and Scotland, up until the Renaissance. Etymology The word "file" is thought to derive from the Proto-Celtic ''*widluios'', meaning "seer, one who sees" (attested ...

'' (

''filid'', sing. ''fili'') or poets of this period learned around one hundred and fifty variants of Ogham during their training, including these word-list forms. Some of the notable

values of these for ''Beith'' include: Enogam/Bird-ogam: ''besan'' "pheasant?" (this translation may be incorrect as the text predates the approximately sixteenth century introduction of pheasants to Ireland) Dathogam/Colour-ogam: ''bán'' "white" Ogam tirda/Agricultural ogam: ''biail'' "axe" Danogam/Art-ogam: ''bethumnacht'' "livelihood" Ogam Cuidechtach/Company Ogam: ''Bachlaid'' "Priests"

Interpretation

Bríatharogaim

Notes

References

See also