Gyfu

{{Short description|Runic character}}

{{Infobox rune

| lang1 = pg| lang2 = oe

| name1 = *Gebō

| name2a = Gyfu

| name2b = Gār

| meaning1 = 'gift'

| meaning2a ='gift'

| meaning2b ="spear"

| shape1 = File:Runic letter gebo.svg

| shape2a =File:Runic letter gebo.svg

| shape2b =File:Runic letter gar.svg

| unicode hex1 =16B7

| unicode hex2a =16B7

| unicode hex2b =16B8

| transliteration1 =g

| transliteration2a =ȝ

| transliteration2b =g

| transcription1 = g

| transcription2a = ȝ, g

| transcription2b = g

| IPA1 = {{IPA|[ɣ]}}

| IPA2a = {{IPA|[g], [ɣ], [ʎ], [j]}}

| IPA2b = {{IPA|[g]}}

| position1 = 7

| position2a = 7

| position2b = 33

}}

{{Contains special characters|Runic|width=30em}}

Gyfu is the name for the g-rune {{runic|ᚷ}} in the Anglo-Saxon rune poem, meaning 'gift' or 'generosity':

class="wikitable" | Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem:Original poem and translation from the [http://www.ragweedforge.com/poems.html Rune Poem Page] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990501094729/http://www.ragweedforge.com/poems.html |date=1999-05-01 }}. | English Translation:

{{runic|ᚷ}} Gẏfu gumena bẏþ gleng and herenẏs, ƿraþu and ƿẏrþscẏpe and ƿræcna gehƿam ar and ætƿist, ðe bẏþ oþra leas. | Generosity brings credit and honour, which support one's dignity; it furnishes help and subsistence to all broken men who are devoid of aught else.

The corresponding letter of the Gothic alphabet is 𐌲 g, called giba. The same rune also appears in the Elder Futhark, with a suggested Proto-Germanic name *gebô 'gift'. J. H. Looijenga speculatesJ.H. Looijenga, Runes Around the North Sea and on the Continent Ad 150-700, PhD diss. Groningen 1997, p. 56. [http://dissertations.ub.rug.nl/FILES/faculties/arts/1997/j.h.looijenga/thesis.pdf Download PDF] that the rune is directly derived from Latin Χ, the pronunciation of which may have been similar to Germanic g in the 1st century, e.g., Gothic *reihs compared to Latin rex (as opposed to the Etruscan alphabet, where Image:EtruscanX-01.png/𐌗 had a value of {{IPA|[s]}}).

The gyfu rune is sometimes used as a symbol within modern mysticism, particularly amongst those interested in Celtic mythology. It's described, for example, in the book The Runic Tarot as a representation of the giving-receiving balance in friendships.The Runic Tarot. Gebo has no murkstave. By Caroline Smith, John Astrop. Page 24. Macmillan, Feb 1, 2005. 9780312321925