Muin () is the eleventh letter 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 langua ...

alphabet. Its phonetic value is

Bríatharogam

In the medieval

kennings 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 p ...

, called '' Bríatharogaim'' or ''Word Ogham'' the verses associated with ''Muin'' are: * ''tressam fedmae'' - "strongest in exertion" in the ''Bríatharogam'' ''Morann mic Moín'' * ''árusc n-airlig'' - "proverb of slaughter" in the ''Bríatharogam'' ''Mac ind Óc'' * ''conar gotha'' - "path of the voice" in the ''Bríatharogam'' ''Con'' ''Culainn''. The ''Bríatharogam'' kennings reflect the fact the

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 ...

''muin'' has three homonyms meaning "

neck The neck is the part of the body on many vertebrates that connects the head with the torso. The neck supports the weight of the head and protects the nerves that carry sensory and motor information from the brain down to the rest of the body. In ...

, upper part of the back", "wile, ruse, trick", and "love, esteem". Which of these gave the letter its name is not known for certain, but is thought to be "neck". This is related to the archaic

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 ...

''mwn'' ("neck") 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 ...

''monile''.

References

Ogham letters {{writingsystem-stub