Dair Explained

Dair is the Irish name of the seventh letter of the Ogham alphabet, ᚇ, meaning "oak". The Irish, Old (to 900);: dair (Early Irish, Old (to 900);: daur) is related to Welsh Welsh: derw(en) and to Breton Breton: derv(enn). Its Proto-Indo-European root was *dóru ("tree"), possibly a deadjectival noun of *deru-, *drew- ("hard, firm, strong, solid"). Its phonetic value is [d].^[1]

Dair forms the basis of some first names in Irish Gaelic such as Daire, Dara, Darragh and Daragh.

Bríatharogam

In the medieval kennings, called Bríatharogam or Word Ogham the verses associated with Dair are:

Irish: ardam dosae - "highest tree" in the Word Ogham of Morann mic Moín

Irish: grés soír - "handicraft of a craftsman" in the Word Ogham of Mac ind Óc

Irish: slechtam soíre - "most carved of craftsmanship" in the Word Ogham of Culainn.^[2]

References

1. Book: McManus, Damian . A Guide to Ogam . 1991 . Maynooth Monographs . 4 . 1-870684-75-3 . 0790-8806 . An Sagart . Co. Kildare, Ireland . 37 . This letter name clearly corresponds to Old Irish dair/daur, gen. daro 'oak-tree', Welsh derw(en) 'oak-tree(s)' from the root *deru-, whence the value /d/..
2. [Auraicept na n-Éces]