ᛈ is the rune denoting the sound p in the Old Futhark runic alphabet, with the tentatively reconstructed Proto-Germanic name perþô. It is continued in the Anglo-Saxon runes, and named peorð in the Anglo-Saxon rune poem. It does not appear in the Younger Futhark. In the poem, it is glossed with the enigmatic
- ᛈ byþ symble plega and hlehter / wlancum [on middum], ðar wigan sittaþ / on beorsele bliþe ætsomne
- "Peorð is a source of recreation and amusement to the great, where warriors sit blithely together in the banqueting-hall."
The name is not comprehensible from Old English. Celtic etymologies have been suggested, but more for lack of another explanation than with much conviction. In the Gothic alphabet, the letters 𐌵 q and 𐍀 p are called "qairþra" and "pairþra" respectively, of which names clearly one is derived from the other, but the names are not comprehensible in Gothic either, and it is not clear which is derived from which. But it seems evident that peorð is related to pairþra.
The Proto-Germanic name could be referring to a pear-tree (or generally a fruit-tree). A common interpretation is that peorð was some sort of game played in merry company, maybe on a wooden board (or a woodwind instrument?).
Etymologically possible, altough not very credible, is a meaning "fart" (interpreting the verse in the sense that farts arouse merriment in the banquet hall).
See also
