Fehu
Fehu is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name for the rune , found as the first rune in all futharks, i.e. the Germanic Elder Futhark, the Anglo-Frisian Futhark and the Norse Younger Futhark, with continued use in the later medieval runes, early modern runes and Dalecarlian runes.
It corresponds to the letter f in the Latin alphabet, but it can periodically shift into the sound value of v.
Character
The shape of the rune is likely based on Etruscan v ⟨?⟩ ⟨⟩, like Greek Digamma ⟨Ϝ⟩ and Latin ⟨F⟩ ultimately from Phoenician waw ⟨⟩.The change of the bistaves pointing upward could stem from visually diverging it from the rune ᚨ, as well as linking it visually to the horns of cattle.
Name
The root name is an ancient word for "livestock". Compare , , , , , fehu,, pecūs, . By extension, it also means ' wealth' and thereof, thus surviving as fee in English with the meaning of "payment compensating for rights or services".The Proto-Germanic name has been reconstructed as fehu, with the meaning of "livestock, cattle" and by extension "wealth".
The corresponding letter of the Gothic alphabet is ⟨?⟩ ⟨f⟩, called faihu. Such correspondence between all rune poems and the Gothic letter name, as well, is uncommon, and gives the reconstructed name of the Old Futhark a high degree of certainty.
Rune poems
The name is recorded in all three rune poems:Old Norwegian:
Old Icelandic:
Old English: