Sail or Saille (ᚄ) is the Irish name of the fourth letter ( Irish "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 langua ...

alphabet, meaning "

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist ...

". The name 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 ...

''helyg(en)'' 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 ...

''salix''. 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- ...

root was *''sal-'' meaning "dirty,grey". Its phonetic value is

Interpretation

The etymology and kennings unambiguously confirm the meaning "

" for this letter name. The ''Morann mic Moín'' kenning is a reference to the sallow grey appearance of the bark of this tree, while the kennings referencing bees and honey are due to its being commonly pollinated by bees.

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 ...

s, called '' Bríatharogaim'' (sing. ''Bríatharogam'') or ''Word Oghams'' the verses associated with ''sail'' are: ''lí ambi'': "pallor of a lifeless one" in the ''Bríatharogam Morann mic Moín'' ''lúth bech'': "sustenance of bees" in the ''Bríatharogam Mac ind Óc'' ''tosach mela'': "beginning of honey" in the ''Bríatharogam Con Culainn''.

Notes

While medieval and modern

neopagan Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or family of religions influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Afric ...

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'' (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 ...

'' (

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 writte ...

''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 ''sail'' include: Enogam/Bird-ogam: ''seg'' "hawk" Dathogam/Colour-ogam: ''sodath'' "fine-coloured" Ogam tirda/Agricultural ogam: ''srathar'' "pack saddle" Danogam/Art-ogam:''sairsi'' "handicraft" Ogam Cuidechtach/Company Ogam: ''Senada'' "Synods"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sail (Letter) Ogham letters