Editing Gyfu (section)

==Anglo-Saxon ''gār'' rune==
In addition to ''gyfu'', the [[futhorc|Anglo-Saxon futhorc]] has the ''gār'' rune {{angbr|{{Runic|ᚸ}}}}, named after a species of [[Migration Period spear|medieval spear]]. It is attested epigraphically on the Ruthwell Cross, and also appears in  11th-century manuscript tradition. Phonetically, ''gār'' represents the /g/ sound. It is a modification of the plain gyfu rune {{Runic|ᚷ}}.

Old English 'gār' means 'spear', but the name of the rune likely echoes the rune names ''[[Jēran|ger]], [[Ear (rune)|ear]], ior'': due to palatalization in Old English, the original ''g'' rune (i.e., the ''Gyfu'' rune {{angbr|{{Runic|ᚷ}}}}) could express either /j/ or /g/ (see [[yogh]]). The ''ger'' unambiguously expressed /j/, and the newly{{when|date=April 2022}} introduced ''gar'' rune had the purpose of unambiguously expressing /g/.

''Gār'' is the 33rd and final rune in the row as given in [[List of manuscripts in the Cotton library#Domitian|Cotton Domitian]] A.ix.