cert ᚊ

Unicode:

Pronunciation: kwert [kʲer͈t]

Alternative names: ceirt, queirt, quert, qwert

Translation: rag, apple (arboreal tradition)

Phonetic value: “q(u)” [kʷ] as in quick


Bríatharogaim Kennings

kenning sourceold irishtranslation1
Bríatharogam Morainn mac Moínclithar baiscill“shelter of a (?)lunatic”
Bríatharogam Maic ind Ócbríg anduini“substance of an insignificant person”
Bríatharogam Con Culainndígu fethail“dregs of clothing”

Selected Word Lists

from In Lebor Ogaim (a.k.a. the Ogam Tract)

aspectassociation
darthogam (color ogham)mouse-colored (quiar)
enogram (bird ogham)hen (querc)
dandogram (art ogham)fluting (quislenacht)

Other Attributed Interpetations

apple (arboreal tradition)2

beauty (eternal)

bush3

flute / flutist

hen / poultry

intrinsic beauty

immortality / eternal

love

lunatic / lunacy

rag4

subtleness

youth / vitality


The above various meanings have been suggested by several authors. I have de-emphasized arboreal symbolisms except where supported by scholarship. See discussion after the feda on this page on my reasons for this decision.

last updated: 24 sept 2023

  1. Damian McManus, Irish letter-names and their kennings, Ériu 39 (1988), 127-168. ↩︎
  2. Likely a false association, as noted in Meroney, H. (1949). Early Irish Letter-Names. Speculum, 24(1), 19–43. https://doi.org/10.2307/2853919, and by McManus. ↩︎
  3. Damian McManus, A Guide or Ogam (1991), online copy (accessed Sept 2023). ↩︎
  4. Appears to possibly be a corrupted association by medieval scholars, as there is no evidence that “rag” ever started with “qu-” (or “kw-“). Meroney argues that the original association of the ogham representing cert remains unknown. ↩︎

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