*Laguz
runes
*Laguz ('water', 'lake'), or *Laukaz ('leek'), is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of the l-rune ᛚ. In the Anglo-Saxon rune poem, it is called lagu "ocean". In the Younger Futhark, the rune is called lögr "waterfall" in Icelandic and logr "water" in Norse.
The name of the corresponding Gothic letter (𐌻, l) is attested as laaz in the Codex Vindobonensis 795; a normalized (Ulfilan) Gothic form *lagus is thought to underlie this unconventional spelling.
The rune is identical in shape to the letter l in the Raetic alphabet.
Rune poem
Leek hypothesis
The hypothesis that the Proto-Germanic name for the rune is *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 *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 laukr as a name for the rune, alongside lín ('flax', 'linen').
The public source identifies “*Laguz” as runes. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Laguz and runes.
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This entry incorporates text from “*Laguz” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.