Dair is the
Irish name of the seventh letter of the
Ogham alphabet, ᚇ, meaning "
oak". The sga, dair (Early sga, daur) 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 peopl ...
and to
Breton
Breton most often refers to:
*anything associated with Brittany, and generally
** Breton people
** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany
** Breton (horse), a breed
**Ga ...
. Its
Proto-Indo-European root was ''*dóru'' ("tree"), possibly a deadjectival noun of ''*deru-'', ''*drew-'' ("hard, firm, strong, solid"). Its phonetic value is
Dair forms the basis of some first names in Irish Gaelic such as Daire, Dara, Darragh and Daragh.
Bríatharogam
In the medieval kennings, called ''
Bríatharogam'' or ''Word Ogham'' the verses associated with ''Dair'' are:
- "highest tree" in the Word Ogham of ''Morann mic Moín''
- "handicraft of a craftsman" in the Word Ogham of ''Mac ind Óc''
- "most carved of craftsmanship" in the Word Ogham of ''Culainn''.
[ Auraicept na n-Éces Calder, George, Edinburgh, John Grant (1917), reprint Four Courts Press (1995), ]
References
Ogham letters
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