*Laguz

{{infobox rune | lang1 = pg | lang2 = oe | lang3 = on | name1 = '''{{lang|gem-x-proto|*Laguz}}'''/'''{{lang|gem-x-proto|*Laukaz}}''' | name2 = '''{{lang|ang-Latn|Lagu}}''' | name3 = '''{{lang|non-Latn|Lögr}}''' | meaning1 = "lake"/"leek" | meaning2 = "ocean, sea" | meaning3 = "water, waterfall" | shape13 = x50px|class=skin-invert-image | unicode hex13 =16DA | transliteration13 ='''l''' | transcription13 =''l'' | IPA13 = {{IPA|[l]}} | position12 = 21 | position3 = 15 }} {{Contains special characters|Runic|width=30em}}

'''{{lang|gem-x-proto|*Laguz}}''' ('water', 'lake'), or '''{{lang|gem-x-proto|*Laukaz}}''' ('leek'), is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of the ''l''-rune {{runic|ᛚ}}. In the Anglo-Saxon rune poem, it is called {{Transliteration|ang|lagu}} "ocean". In the Younger Futhark, the rune is called {{Transliteration|is|lögr}} "waterfall" in Icelandic and {{Transliteration|no|logr}} "water" in Norse.

The name of the corresponding Gothic letter (𐌻, ''l'') is attested as {{Transliteration|got|laaz}} in the Codex Vindobonensis 795; a normalized (Ulfilan) Gothic form {{Transliteration|got|*lagus}} is thought to underlie this unconventional spelling.

The rune is identical in shape to the letter ''l'' in the Raetic alphabet.

==Rune poem== {| class="wikitable" | '''Rune Poem:'''<ref>Original poems 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 }}.</ref> | '''English Translation:''' |- | '''Old Norwegian''' {{lang|gem-NO|<poem>{{runic|ᛚ}} Lögr er, fællr ór fjalle foss; en gull ero nosser.</poem>}} | <poem>A waterfall is a River which falls from a mountain-side; but ornaments are of gold.</poem> |- | '''Old Icelandic''' {{lang|non-IS|<poem>{{runic|ᛚ}} Lögr er vellanda vatn ok viðr ketill ok glömmungr grund. ''lacus'' lofðungr.</poem>}} | <poem>Water is eddying stream and broad geysir and land of the fish.</poem> |- | '''Old English''' {{lang|ang|<poem>{{runic|ᛚ}} Lagu bẏþ leodum langsum geþuht, gif hi sculun neþan on nacan tealtum and hi sæẏþa sƿẏþe bregaþ and se brimhengest bridles ne gẏm[eð].</poem>}} | <poem>The ocean seems interminable to men, if they venture on the rolling bark and the waves of the sea terrify them and the stallion of the deep heed not its bridle.</poem> |}

==Leek hypothesis== {{main|Leeks in Germanic paganism}} The hypothesis that the Proto-Germanic name for the rune is {{lang|gem-x-proto|*laukaz}} ('leek') is based not on the rune poems, but rather on early inscriptions, such as the Bülach fibula, where the rune has been hypothesised to be an abbreviation of {{lang|gem-x-proto|*laukaz}}. The choice of word may be due to the plant being seen as a symbol of fertility and healing. Also supporting this idea are 10th century manuscripts that use the Old Norse descendent {{lang|non|laukr}} as a name for the rune, alongside {{lang|non|lín}} ('flax', 'linen').<ref>{{cite book |last1=Looijenga |first1=Tineke |title=Texts and Contexts of the Oldest Runic Inscriptions |date=1 January 2003 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-12396-0 |url=https://www.academia.edu/5030830 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Markey |first1=Tom |title='Garlic and Sapphires in the Mud': 'Leeks' in their Early Folk Contexts |journal=Leeds Studies in English |date=2013 |pages=10–42 |url=https://digital.library.leeds.ac.uk/12219/1/LSE2013_pp.10-42_Markey_article.pdf}}</ref>

==See also== *Elder Futhark *Rune poem

==References== {{Reflist}} {{Runes}}

Category:Runes