Page:The Aryan Origin of the Alphabet.djvu/57

Rh Fish, and defined as meaning "Fish, god Ia of the Deep Waters, Lord or King." This syllabic sign by dropping its final consonant as previously described becomes Si or S alphabetically; and in "Semitic" Phœnician it is used for the simple S, called Samekh in the Hebrew.

The second form, the plumed crown-sign is seen to be obviously derived from the Sumerian ???? Sa picturing a plumed crown and defined as "King" disclosing the origin of Egyptian hieroglyph Śu, a plumed or feathered crown (see Plate II, col. 3) and the use of this hieroglyph alphabetically for Ś. This Sumerian plume-sign is also seen to be apparently the parent of the "Semitic" Phoenician letter for Ś, the so-called Shin of Hebrew, in all of which the sign is given the aspirated Ś value. In view of its aspirated value of Ś or Sh, it is possible that the "Semitic" Phœnician sign  � Ψ?,? may be a diagrammatic form of the Sumerian sign Śar, "Garden," picturing a garden with plants, and shown in my Dictionary, Plate V to be the Sumerian source of the Egyptian hieroglyph Śa, "Garden," and alphabetic for Ś or Sh. And this Egyptian garden-sign Śa generally resembles the "Semitic" Phœnician letter for Ś or Sh. In the Runes the oldest alphabetic form of the simple S is found, later it was sometimes written with its top and bottom strokes vertically (see Plate II, col. 18 and cp. WPOB. 29); and significantly the letter was called Sig or Sigil. In Ogam the "tree-twig" S has four bars on one side of the stem (see Plate II, col. 19). The Old Persian cuneiform appears to use for S the plumed crown-sign turned on its right side, and for Sh or Ś, the Śar