('water', 'lake'), or ('leek'), is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of the l-rune . In the Anglo-Saxon rune poem, it is called "ocean". In the Younger Futhark, the rune is called "waterfall" in Icelandic and "water" in Norse.
The name of the corresponding Gothic letter (𐌻, l) is attested as in the Codex Vindobonensis 795; a normalized (Ulfilan) Gothic form 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:
| English Translation:
|-
|
Old Norwegian
|
<poem>A waterfall is a River which falls from a mountain-side;
but ornaments are of gold.</poem>
|-
|
Old Icelandic
|
<poem>Water is eddying stream
and broad geysir
and land of the fish.</poem>
|-
|
Old English
|
<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
The hypothesis that the Proto-Germanic name for the rune is ('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 . 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 as a name for the rune, alongside ('flax', 'linen').
See also
- Elder Futhark
- Rune poem