Sowilō (rune)
Sowilo (*"sōwilō"), meaning "sun", is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic language name of the "s"-rune (ᛊ, ᛋ). The letter is a direct adoption of Old Italic (Etruscan or Latin) "s" (𐌔), ultimately from Greek sigma (Σ). It is present in the earliest inscriptions of the 2nd to 3rd century (Vimose, Kovel). The name is attested for the same rune in all three Rune Poems. It appears as Old Norse and Old Icelandic Sól and as Old English Sigel. Name. The Germanic words for "Sun" have the peculiarity of alternating between "-l-" and "-n-" stems, Proto-Germanic "*sunnon" (Old English  sunne, Old Norse, Old Saxon and Old High German "sunna") vs. *"sōwilō" or *"sōwulō" (Old Norse "sól", Gothic "sauil", also Old High German forms such as "suhil"). This continues a Proto-Indo-European alternation "*suwen-" vs. "*sewol-" (Avestan "xweng" vs. Latin "sōl", Greek "helios", Sanskrit "surya", Welsh "haul", Breton "heol", Old Irish "suil" "eye"), a remnant of an archaic, so-called "heteroclitic", declension pattern that remained productive only in the Anatolian languages. The Old English name of the rune, written "sigel" (pronounced ) is most often explained as a remnant of an otherwise extinct "l-"stem variant of the word for "Sun  (meaning that the spelling with g" is unetymological), but alternative suggestions have been put forward, such as deriving it from Latin "sigillum" (assuming that the "y" is the unetymological element instead). Development and variants. The Elder Futhark "s" rune is attested in main two variants, a "Σ shape" (four strokes), more prevalent in earlier (3rd to 5th century) inscriptions (e.g. Kylver stone), and an "S shape" (three strokes), more prevalent in later (5th to 7th century) inscriptions (e.g. Golden horns of Gallehus, Seeland-II-C). The Younger Futhark "Sol" and the Anglo-Saxon futhorc "Sigel" runes are identical in shape , a rotated version of the later Elder Futhark rune, with the middle stroke slanting upwards, and the initial and final strokes vertical. The Anglo-Saxon runes developed a variant shape (), called the "bookhand" "s" rune because it is probably inspired by the long s (ſ) in Insular script. This variant form is used in the "futhorc" given on the Seax of Beagnoth. Armanen runes. The "sig" rune in Guido von List's Armanen Futharkh corresponds to the Younger Futhark "sigel", thus changing the concept associated with it from "sun" to "victory" (German ""). It was adapted into the emblem of the  SS in 1933 by Walter Heck, an SS functionary who worked as a graphic designer for the firm of Ferdinand Hofstätter, a producer of emblems and insignia in Bonn. Heck's design consisted of two "sig" runes drawn side by side like lightning bolts, and was soon adopted by all branches of the SS, although Heck himself received only a token payment of 2.5 s for his work. Yenne (2010) suggests a double meaning for the device, suggestive of "a rallying cry" of "Victory, Victory!" (see also "Sieg Heil"). Thus, during the Nazi era, the conventional spelling of "Siegrune" was  adopted, a regular nominal compound translating to "victory rune". The symbol became so ubiquitous that it was frequently typeset using runes rather than letters; during the Nazi period, an extra key was added to German typewriters to enable them to type the double-"sig" logo with a single keystroke.