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Straif

  Aicme Beithe   Aicme Muine
Beith Muin
Luis Gort
Fearn nGéadal
Sail Straif
Nion Ruis
  Aicme hÚatha   Aicme Ailme
Uath Ailm
Dair Onn
Tinne Úr
Coll Eadhadh
Ceirt Iodhadh
  Forfeda
Éabhadh
Ór
Uilleann
Ifín Peith
Eamhancholl

Straif is the Irish name of the fourteenth letter of the Ogham alphabet, ᚎ. Old Irish spelling variants are straif, straiph, zraif, sraif, sraiph, sraib.

The Bríatharogam kennings for the letter are:

The probable meaning of the name is "sulphur". The first two kennings could be explained by the main use of sulphur as dye, and its alchemical significance, respectively. The third kenning could be a corruption of saiget nél "arrow of the clouds", i.e. sraibtine "lightning". An alternative kenning has aire srábae "chief of streams", and glossators adhering to the "Tree Alphabet" base an identification with draigen "blackthorn" on this, by thinking of a "hedge on a river". The "chief of streams" kenning may be referring to sulphur by reference to the stream of brimstone, sruth [s]ruibhe, mentioned in Isaiah 30:33.

The letter's original phonetic value is uncertain, but it may have been [st], [ts] or [sw]. The medieval manuscript tradition transcribes it with Latin Z.


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