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Nion (ᚅ) is the Irish name of the fifth letter ( Irish "letter": sing.''fid'', pl.''feda'') of the
Ogham Ogham (also ogam and ogom, , Modern Irish: ; , later ) 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 language ( scholastic ...
alphabet, with phonetic value The
Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic (, Ogham, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ; ; or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic languages, Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive written texts. It was used from 600 to 900. The ...
letter name, Nin, may derive from
Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic (, Ogham, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ; ; or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic languages, Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive written texts. It was used from 600 to 900. The ...
homonym In linguistics, homonyms are words which are either; '' homographs''—words that mean different things, but have the same spelling (regardless of pronunciation), or '' homophones''—words that mean different things, but have the same pronunciat ...
s ''nin/ninach'' meaning "fork/forked" and "loft/lofty". ''Nin'' is notable for being the old name that refers both to this specific letter, and to any of the Ogham letters in general. "Nin" is also an Irish word used for a grandma.


Interpretation

The glossators of the
Ogam Tract ''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 ...
and the
Auraicept na n-Éces ''Auraicept na nÉces'' (; "The Scholars' Primer" ) is an Old Irish text on language and grammar. The core of the text may date to the early eighth century, but much material was added between that date and the production of the earliest surviv ...
seem to refer to at least two Irish words ''nin'', meaning "part of a weaver's loom", and "a wave". The corresponding adjective ''ninach'' is glossed as ''gablach'' and used as a synonym of
cross A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...
, and the word seems to be roughly synonymous with ''gabul'' "fork, forked branch", and is thus a plausible base for a name for "Ogham letters", which (at least the consonants), look like forks or combs. The second ''nin'' seems to be cognate with Welsh ''nen'' "roof, heaven", with a meaning of "loftiness", with an adjective ''ninach'' "lofty". The kennings are explained by the glossators that weavers' beams were erected as signs of peace. The "arboreal" tradition claims the word as
ash-tree ''Fraxinus'' (), commonly called ash, is a genus of plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae, and comprises 45–65 species of usually medium-to-large trees, most of which are deciduous trees, although some subtropical species are evergr ...
, concluding that looms were made of ash-wood. In some instances, the association with ash-wood, which is best known as the raw material for spears, the kenning was amended to "destruction of peace", as in the Auraicept:
Nin too is named from a tree, viz., ash, ut dicitur: A "check on peace" is ''nin'', viz., ash, for of it are made the spear-shafts by which the peace is broken: or, A "check on peace" is ash-tree. ''Nin'', that is the fork of a weaver's beam which is made of ash, which is in time of peace raised.
McManus suggests that the word for "forked branch" was also applied to the olive branch, the shaking of which in Irish tradition requested an interruption of a battle. The kennings related to beauty, on the other hand, are perhaps dependent on the second meaning of "lofty".


Bríatharogaim

In the medieval
kenning A kenning ( Icelandic: ) is a figure of speech, a figuratively-phrased compound term that is used in place of a simple single-word noun. For instance, the Old English kenning () means , as does (). A kenning has two parts: a base-word (a ...
s, called '' Bríatharogaim'' (sing. ''Bríatharogam'') or ''Word Oghams'' the verses associated with ''Nin'' are: ''costud síde'': "establishing of peace" in the ''Bríatharogam Morann mic Moín'' ''bág ban'': "boast of women" in the ''Bríatharogam Mac ind Óc'' ''bág maise'': "boast of beauty" in the ''Bríatharogam Con Culainn''.


See also

*
Naudiz *Naudiz is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic name of the ''n''-rune , meaning "need, distress". In the Anglo-Saxon runes, Anglo-Saxon futhorc, it is continued as ''nyd'', in the Younger Futhark as , Icelandic language, ...
*
Nun (letter) Nun is the fourteenth letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician ''nūn'' 𐤍, Hebrew ''nūn'' , Aramaic ''nūn'' 𐡍‎, Syriac ''nūn'' ܢ, and Arabic ''nūn'' (in abjadi order). Its numerical value is 50. It is the third letter ...


Notes

While medieval and modern
neopagan Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, spans a range of new religious movements variously influenced by the beliefs of pre-modern peoples across Europe, North Africa, and the Near East. Despite some common simila ...
arboreal glosses (i.e. tree names) for the Ogham have been widely popularised (even for feda 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 fili (or ''filè'') (), plural filid, filidh (or filès), was a member of an elite class of poets in Gaelic Ireland, Ireland, and later Scotland in the Middle Ages, Scotland, up until the English Renaissance, Renaissance. The filid were b ...
'' (
Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic (, Ogham, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ; ; or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic languages, Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive written texts. It was used from 600 to 900. The ...
''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
Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic (, Ogham, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ; ; or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic languages, Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive written texts. It was used from 600 to 900. The ...
values of these for ''Nion'' include: Enogam/Bird-ogam: ''naescu'' "snipe" Dathogam/Colour-ogam: ''necht'' "clear" Ogam tirda/Agricultural ogam: ''nasc'' "ring" Danogam/Art-ogam: ''notaireacht'' "notary work" Ogam Cuidechtach/Company Ogam: ''Noeim'' "Saints"


References

{{Reflist Ogham letters