Gebo
The Elder Futhark rune for the “g” sound, an X-shaped cross. Its name, *gebu, meant a gift.
Meaning
The reconstructed name is *gebu, Old Norse gjof, “gift”, according to Store norske leksikon. The Old English rune poem calls it gyfu and describes generosity: it “brings credit and honour”, and gives help and a living to all broken men “who are devoid of aught else”. The Bosworth–Toller dictionary glosses the English name as “a gift”.
Origin and history
The rune kept its name and sound in England, where the rune poem was written down. It has no stanza in the Norwegian and Icelandic rune poems, which were written for the later alphabet: at the start of the Viking Age, Store norske leksikon notes, the Younger Futhark of 16 runes came into use.
Write in runes
stringmash.comRune translatorTurn English into Elder Futhark, Younger Futhark or Anglo-Saxon runes, with a chart of all 24 Elder Futhark runes.Read next
- Next in Elder Futhark runesWunjoThe Elder Futhark rune for the “w” sound. Its name, *wunju, meant joy.
- The same shape in Catholic symbolsMarian crossA cross with a capital M beside it or beneath it, for Mary standing at the foot of the cross. It is best known from the coat of arms of Pope John Paul II.
See also
Uruz, Thurisaz, Ansuz, Raido, Kaunan, Hagalaz.
Sources
- Runer (Store norske leksikon), Store norske leksikon, Runenavn (table of rune names)
- Futhark (Store norske leksikon), Store norske leksikon
- Runic and heroic poems of the old Teutonic peoples, Bruce Dickins (ed. and trans.), 1915, Cambridge University Press (Internet Archive), Anglo-Saxon poem v. 19
- gifu (Bosworth–Toller Anglo-Saxon Dictionary), Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (1898), online edition, Faculty of Arts, Charles University, Prague, entry “gifu”
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols formed from crosses or letters and numbers.
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed September 30, 2026. How we research
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