| Name | Proto-Germanic | Old English | Old Norse | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *Ūruz/*Ūrą | Ūr | Ȳr | Úr | stung Úr | |
| "aurochs"/"water" | "aurochs" | ? | “windy, cold drizzle/snowfall” “dross” | ||
| Shape | Elder Futhark | Futhorc | Younger Futhark | ||
&sq=Facebook&lang=en&file=File:Runic_letter_uruz.svg){kind=small} | | &sq=Facebook&lang=en&file=File:Runic_letter_yr.svg){kind=small} | | &sq=Facebook&lang=en&file=File:Runic_letter_ur_stung.svg){kind=small} | |
| Unicode | ᚢ U+16A2 | ᚢ U+16A2 | ᚣ U+16A3 | ᚢ U+16A2 | ᚤ U+16A4 |
| Transliteration | u | u | y | u | y |
| Transcription | u | u | y | u, o, y, œ w / v | y, œ v |
| IPA | [u(ː)] | [u(ː)] | [y(ː)] | [u] [ø] [y] [œ] [v] [w] | [y] [œ] [v] |
| Position in rune-row | 2 | 2 | 27 | 2₁ | 2₂ |
Ur is the recorded name for the rune ᚢ in both Old English and Old Norse, found as the second rune in all runic alphabets (futharks), i.e. Germanic Elder Futhark, Anglo-Frisian Futhark and Norse Younger Futhark. It corresponds to the letter u in the Latin alphabet, but also carries other sound values, especially in Younger Futhark, were its sound values correspond to the vowels: [u] , [ø] , [y] and [œ] etc., and the consonants: [v] and [w] etc., in the Latin alphabet.
It may have been derived from the Raetic alphabet character u as it is similar in both shape and sound value. It is also found as the 16th letter in the Gothic alphabet (𐌿), the corresponding name being urus.