The Transit from the ABG-

to the ABC-Alphabet
(and The Etymology of Gud)
Joannes Richter

row palatal labial lingual guttural dental

5 Q17 U21, V22, W23 T20 Y25 7

4 K11 P16 N14 O15 Z 7->26 5

3 I9, J10 M13 L12 H8 X24 4
2 G3→ 7 U6, (F6) (Þ) Ε5 S19 4
1 C3 B2 D4 A1 R18 6
sum 7 7 4 5 3 26

Table 1 The display of the theonym G7-U6-(Þ)-Ε5-S19 in the Latin 2 ABCDR-alphabet

Indices ## 1 2 3 - 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12 13 14 - - 15 16 - 17 18 19 20 21-26
(c) Ϝ I V,U,W,
ABGDZ-Latin 1 26 A B G D E Z H (Þ) K L M N O P (s) Q R S T
U J X,Y, Z

Ϝ G I V,U,W,
ABCDR-Latin 2 26 A B C D E H (Þ) K L M N O P QR S T
U (Z) J X,Y, Z
Table 2 The transit from ABGDZ- to the ABCDR-Alphabet

Abstract
The letter 'G' was introduced in the Old Latin period as a variant of 'C' to distinguish voiced /ɡ/
from voiceless /k/. The recorded originator of 'G' is freedman Spurius Carvilius Ruga, who added
letter G to the teaching of the Roman alphabet during the 3rd century BC.
Ruga's new letter G could have been added at the end of the alphabet, but Ruga replaced an
existing, superfluous letter Z by the new G and relocated the Z to the end of the alphabet.
The replacement of a dental letter (Z) by a palatal letter (G) disturbed the logic in the structure of
the Old Latin alphabet, in which the 2 nd row of the 2-dimensional table of the alphabet displayed
the theonym “(Þ)-I10-Ε5-V6-S” (“DIEUS”). The logic depends on the points of articulation (lingual,
labial, guttural, palatal and dental) of the letters.
This transit of the letter G3 → G7 caused a modification of the displayed theonym at the 2nd row of
the 2-dimensional table of the Latin alphabet from “(Þ)-I10-Ε5-V6-S” (“DIEUS”) to “G7-U6-(Þ)-Ε5-
S19“, which in the Latin alphabet may be interpreted as the abbreviated theonym “God” (“GUÞ” →
“GOD”).
Freedman Spurius Carvilius Ruga may have been unaware of the impact by his reorganization of
the alphabetical order.
The historical episode

The initial Latin alphabet

Initially the Latin alphabet had been ordered with shared positions, which contained a set of two
palatals C3 and G3 and another set of two labials F6 and V6. The functionality of these symbols
needed to be split into independent letters.
The letters Z7 and ṣ (between P16 and Q17) had been superfluous and might at time be skipped.

The Θ and ṣ had already been deleted, but contributed a function in the alphabetical display of the
theonyms of the sky-god “(Þ)-I10-Ε5-V6-S” (“DIEUS”).
The following mapping table allows to the corresponding correlations between the letters of the the
Ugaritic, various Greek and Latin alphabets:

Index 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Transcription
of the Ugaritic 30 ʾa b g ḫ d h w z ḥ ṭ y k š l m ḏ n ẓ s ʿ p ṣ q r s ġ t ʾi ʾu s2
alphabet
2
Numbers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 21 22 23
0
Hebrew 22
‫גב א‬ ‫כ י ט ח ז ו הד‬ ‫מ ל‬ ‫נ‬ ‫שרק צ פ ע ס‬ ‫ת‬
Alphabēton
ἀλφάβητον 23 A B Γ ΔΕ F Ζ Η Θ Ι Κ Λ Μ Ν ΞΟΠ S K Ρ Σ Τ Y
Old-Greek 21 A B Γ ΔΕ Υ Ζ Η Θ Ι Κ Λ Μ Ν ΟΠ s q Ρ Σ Τ
Classic Greek 21 A B Γ ΔΕ Ζ Η Θ Ι Κ Λ Μ Ν ΟΠ Ρ Σ Τ YXΩ
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21-26
C Ϝ I V,U,W,
Latin 1 26 A B DE Z H Þ K L M N O P ṣ QR S T
G V J X,Y, Z
Table 3 Ugaritic abecedaria (1) of the "Northern Semitic order" (27-30 letters)
(categorized according to the comments of Rabbi Saadia Gaon's commentary)

In the 2-dimensional Latin alphabet the 2nd row displayed the following theonyms I10-Ε5-V6 and Þ9-
I10-Ε5-V6-(S):
row lingual palatal guttural labial dental
5 T20 X24 Y25 U21, V22, W23 S19 7
4 N14 Q17 O15 P16 R18 5
3 L12 K11 H8 M13 (Ts) 4
2 (Þ) I9, J10 Ε5 F6, (V6→ 21) (ṣ) 4
1 D4 C3, G3→ 7 A1 B2 (Z7→ 26) 6
sum 4 7 5 7 3 26

Table 4 The display of the theonyms I10-Ε5-V6 and (Þ9)-I10-Ε5-V6-(S) in the Latin alphabet
The modified Latin alphabet
The following mapping table symbolizes the transit of the letters G and Z from the Latin 1 → Latin
2 alphabets, which had been planned by freedman Spurius Carvilius Ruga.

Index 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Transcription
of the Ugaritic 30 ʾa b g ḫ d h w z ḥ ṭ y k š l m ḏ n ẓ s ʿ p ṣ q r s ġ t ʾi ʾu s2
alphabet
2
Numbers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 21 22 23
0
Hebrew 22
‫גב א‬ ‫כ י ט ח ז ו הד‬ ‫מ ל‬ ‫נ‬ ‫שרק צ פ ע ס‬ ‫ת‬
Alphabēton
ἀλφάβητον
23 A B Γ ΔΕ F Ζ Η Θ Ι Κ Λ Μ Ν ΞΟΠ S K Ρ Σ Τ Y
Old-Greek 21 A B Γ ΔΕ Υ Ζ Η Θ Ι Κ Λ Μ Ν ΟΠ s q Ρ Σ Τ
Classic Greek 21 A B Γ ΔΕ Ζ Η Θ Ι Κ Λ Μ Ν ΟΠ Ρ Σ Τ YXΩ
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21-26
(c) Ϝ I V,U,W,
Latin 1 26 A BG DE Z H Þ K L M N O P s QR S T
V J X,Y, Z

Ϝ G I V,U,W,
Latin 2 26 A BC DE H (Þ) K L M N O P s QR S T
V (Z) J X,Y, Z
Table 5 Ugaritic abecedaria (1) of the "Northern Semitic order" (27-30 letters)
(categorized according to the comments of Rabbi Saadia Gaon's commentary)

The dental letters Z and ṣ lost their positions in the row 1 and 2. Therefore the locations of the R18
and S19 shifted to the row 1, respectively 2. The ṣ was deleted. The letter Z 26 was deleted as well,
but later had to be replaced.
The letter G replaced the 7th position of the palatals, which removed the I9, J10 from the 2nd row and
their contribution to the theonym.
row lingual palatal guttural labial dental
X24 1
5 T20 Q17 Y25 U21, V22, W23 6

4 N14 K11 O15 P16 4

3 L12 I9, J10 H8 M13 Z 26 6
2 (Þ) G3→ 7 Ε5 U6, (F6) S19 4
1 D4 C3 A1 B2 R18 5
sum 4 7 5 7 3 26

Table 6 The display of the theonyms I10-Ε5-V6 and Þ9-I10-Ε5-V6-(S) in the Latin alphabet
The detailed activity of freedman Spurius Carvilius Ruga

The splitting of the functionality of the letters C and G

In the Old Latin period1 (the 3rd century BC) the letter 'G' was introduced as a variant of 'C' to
distinguish voiced /ɡ/ from voiceless /k/, and G was used to represent a voiced velar from this point
on and C "stood for the unvoiced velar only".[2]
The recorded originator of 'G' is freedman Spurius Carvilius Ruga, who added letter G
to the teaching of the Roman alphabet during the 3rd century BC:[3] he was the first
Roman to open a fee-paying school, around 230 BC. At this time, 'K' (K) had fallen out
of favor, and 'C', which had formerly represented both /ɡ/ and /k/ before open vowels,
had come to express /k/ in all environments.

The impact of the letters' values as Greek numerals

Ruga's positioning of 'G' shows that alphabetic order related to the letters' values as Greek numerals
was a concern even in the 3rd century BC.

Milesian 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 - 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900

alphabet 27 A B Γ Δ Ε F Ζ Η Θ Ι Κ Λ Μ Ν Ξ Ο Π ϙ .. Ρ Σ Τ Y Φ Χ Ψ Ω Ϡ
a b g d e f z h i k l m n o p r s t u x
Table 7 Numbering system of the Milesian alphabet
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Old Latin
ABCDEFGH I K L MN O P Q R S T V X
alphabet
I
Categories ABCDEϜGHΘ K L MN Ξ O P ϙ R S T V Φ X
J
Milesian Number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 200 300 400 500 600
Table 8 Old Latin alphabet, in the modern equivalent letters
and the categories (lingual, labial, guttural, palatal and dental)
In order to make place for the palatal letter G the 7th letter Z (a dental letter) was moved from the 7 th
location to the end of the alphabet2.
After the evolution from the Western Greek Alphabet through Old Italic alphabet, G
developed from C, the consonantal I (namely J) from a flourished I, V and U split
likewise and the Germanic-centred ligature of VV became W, the letter thorn Þ was
introduced from the runic alphabet but was lost in all except Icelandic, and s would be
normally written as a long s (ſ), and when coming before z, it formed the ligature ß,
which has survived in German to this day as a separate letter. S would settle as it
appears today a terminal s (as it always had been at a word's end) after the 7th century
AD – the internal forms were widely deprecated by the 19th century. 3

1 Probably during the 3rd century BC, the Z (a dental Z) was dropped and a new letter G (a palatal G) was placed in
its position – according to Plutarch, by Spurius Carvilius Ruga – so that afterward, C = /k/, G = /ɡ/.
2 According to some records, the original seventh letter, 'Z', had been purged from the Latin alphabet somewhat
earlier in the 3rd century BC by the Roman censor Appius Claudius, who found it distasteful and foreign.[4]
Sampson (1985) suggests that: "Evidently the order of the alphabet was felt to be such a concrete thing that a new
letter could be added in the middle only if a 'space' was created by the dropping of an old letter."[5]
3 History_of_the_Latin_script#Old_Latin_period (in Wikipedia)
The impact of the transit of letters on the displayed theonyms
These transits caused some problems in the theonym, which had been displayed in the 2-
dimensional table of the alphabet.
George Hempl proposed in 1899 that there never was such a "space" in the alphabet and
that in fact 'G' was a direct descendant of zeta. Zeta took shapes like ⊏ in some of the
Old Italic scripts; the development of the monumental form 'G' from this shape would
be exactly parallel to the development of 'C' from gamma. He suggests that the
pronunciation /k/ > /ɡ/ was due to contamination from the also similar-looking 'K'.[6]

Eventually, both velar consonants /k/ and /ɡ/ developed palatalized allophones before
front vowels; consequently in today's Romance languages, ⟨c⟩ and ⟨g⟩ have different
sound values depending on context (known as hard and soft C and hard and soft G).
Because of French influence, English language orthography shares this feature4.

The result of the transit of the Latin 1 → 2 -alphabets

The result of the transits of the Latin 1 → 2 -alphabets may be listed in the following tables:

row palatal labial lingual guttural dental

5 Q17 U21, V22, W23 T20 Y25 7

4 K11 P16 N14 O15 Z 7->26 5

3 I9, J10 M13 L12 H8 X24 4
2 G3→ 7 U6, (F6) (Þ) Ε5 S19 4
1 C3 B2 D4 A1 R18 6
sum 7 7 4 5 3 26

Table 9 The display of the theonym G7-U6-(Þ)-Ε5-S19 in the Latin 2 ABCDR-alphabet

Indices ## 1 2 3 - 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12 13 14 - - 15 16 - 17 18 19 20 21-26
(c) Ϝ I V,U,W,
ABGDZ-Latin 1 26 A B G D E Z H (Þ) K L M N O P (s) Q R S T
U J X,Y, Z

Ϝ G I V,U,W,
ABCDR-Latin 2 26 A B C D E H (Þ) K L M N O P QR S T
U (Z) J X,Y, Z
Table 10 The transit from ABGDZ- to the ABCDR-Alphabet
The theonym G7-U6-(Þ)-Ε5-S19 is defined as the God - “Invoked One” (Proto-Indo-European/ǵʰutós).
#
Pentagram P Information Definitions Language
1. G
*GUDAS P God - “Invoked One”, derived from God Proto-
*GUDAN - Germanic
2. G
*ǴHUTÓS P God - “Invoked One” God PI-European
(Proto-Indo-European/ǵʰutós)

Table 11 Reconstruction of the Proto-Indo-European/ǵʰutós* (ǴHUTÓS)

4 The evolution of the Latin alphabet's G (Wikipedia)
The etymology of the words God (GUDĄ) and DIEU
The English word god comes from the Old English god, which itself is derived from the Proto-
Germanic *GUDĄ. Its cognates in other Germanic languages include guþ, gudis (both Gothic), guð
(Old Norse), god (Old Saxon, Old Frisian, and Old Dutch), and got (Old High German).
The Proto-Germanic meaning of *GUDĄ and its etymology is uncertain. It is generally
agreed that it derives from a Proto-Indo-European neuter passive perfect participle
*ǵʰu-tó-m.[1]: 193–194 This form within (late) Proto-Indo-European itself was possibly
ambiguous, and thought to derive from a root *ǵʰew- "to pour, libate" (the idea survives
in the Dutch word giet, meaning "pour") (Sanskrit huta, see hotṛ), or from a root *ǵʰaw-
(*ǵʰewh2-) "to call, to invoke" (Sanskrit hūta). Sanskrit hutá = "having been sacrificed",
from the verb root hu = "sacrifice", but a slight shift in translation gives the meaning
"one to whom sacrifices are made." Thus it can be related to the ancient Indian name
Gautam and its Sanskrit roots5.

DIEU is based on the root *dyew- (“sky, heaven”):

Inherited from Middle French dieu, from Old French deu, from Latin deus, from Old
Latin deivos, from Proto-Italic *deiwos, from Proto-Indo-European *deywós.

From Old Latin deivos, from Proto-Italic *deiwos, from Proto-Indo-European *deywós.
An o-stem derivative from *dyew- (“sky, heaven”), from which also diēs and Iuppiter.

From (around) 300 BCE the word *GUDĄ for “god” may have been preferred for Germanic
languages and DIEU for Latin-based languages. These words *GUDĄ and DIEU (or alternatively
variants like DIO and DIOS) shared the equivalent letters (D, I or G, Ą or O, U and S) in the locally
valid pentagrammatons: the Germanic root GUDĄ and the Romanized DIEU, DIO, DIOS,...

The role of the Goths

The Gothic alphabet is an alphabet used for writing the Gothic language. It was developed in the
4th century AD by Ulfilas (or Wulfila), a Gothic preacher of Cappadocian Greek descent, for the
purpose of translating the Bible.[1]
The alphabet essentially uses uncial forms of the Greek alphabet, with a few additional letters to
express Gothic phonology:
• Latin F (F) and G (G)
• a questionably Runic letter to distinguish the /w/ glide from vocalic /u/
• the letter hwair (?) to express the Gothic labiovelar.
The G represent the symbol for the Goths, the word God, their god “Guth (GUÞ6, „God“; and the
link to the alphabetical G (in the Latin alphabet). The letter D may be a thorn (“Þ”) or Ð.
[ ← Prot-Germ *GUDAZ; OE ȝod (Mod E god); O Fris god; O Sax god; Dt god; OHG
got (Mod G Gott); O Icel goð, GUÐ (Mod Icel goð “heathen god”; GUÐ “the God”)] 7

The Goths may have support to spread the Germanic name “God”.

5 God_(word)
6 guþ - Gothic dictionary:
7 guþ - Gothic dictionary: etymology
The Gothic language8

The Gothic alphabet

The Gothic alphabet (25 phonetics, 26 symbols, 27 numeric symbols) is based on the Greek
alphabet and cannot be compared to the runic signaries, for which the origins belong to the
unsolved mysteries. As soon as the origins of the alphabets are solved we may understand the
relations between the alphabets and the runic signaries. A preceding essay “Overview of the
Alphabetic Arrays” documents all signaries (resp. “alphabets”) in one overview.
As a Germanic language the Gothic alphabet may be compared to the runic Futhark and Ogham
signaries for their theonyms. The Gothic theonym ΦΕΙϚR (ÞEIVR) is displayed on the 2 nd row of
the alphabetic table of the Gothic alphabet.

Gothic alphabet Α Β Γ Δ Ε Ϛ Ζ Η Φ Ψ Ι Κ Λ Μ Ν G ᚢ Π Ϙ R S, Τ Υ Ϝ Χ Θ
Ω Ͳ
ϰ ᛃ Σ F ᛟ Ϡ
Transliteration a b g d e g z h þ i k l m n j u p Q r s t w f xƕ o
↓ ↓ ↓
Greek alphabet Α Β Γ Δ Ε Υ Ζ Η Θ Ι ΚΛ ΜΝ Ξ ΟΠ Q Ρ Σ Τ Υ X Ω
Old Latin A DE F H I K MN O S V
C F
Latin alphabet A B G DE V Z H (θ) I KL MN OP Q v S Τ u v w x y z
Number value 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Gothic alphabet 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Table 12 The categorization table for the Gothic alphabet as defined by the Visigoth bishop Ulfilas

The theonym ΦΕΙϚR (ÞEIVR)

linguals gutturals palatals labials dentals #

6 ᛏ, Ͳ (Ϡ) ?900 Ω - Ω800 Χ - X600 Ϝ - F500 3

5 Τ - Τ300 Θ – Ƕ/Y700 Ϙ - Q90 Υ - W400 4

4 Ν - N50 ᚢ - O70 G - J60 Π - P80 4

3 Λ - L30 Η - H8 Κ - K20 Μ - M40 S - S200 5

2 ΦΨ - Þ9 Ε - E5 Ι - I10 Ϛ- F/V69 R - R100 5

1 Δ - D4 Α - A1 Γ - G3 Β - B2 Ζ - Z7 5
# 5 6 6 6 3 26

Table 13 Highlighting the Gothic theonym ΦΕΙϚR (ÞEIVR) in the Gothic Signary
(Gothic letters and the Latin Transliteration)

The Gothic alphabet, which was built on the Greek alphabet, did not shift the Z to the end of the
alphabet and refused to replace the dental letter Z to the G.

8 The Origin of the Futhark, Ogham and Gothic Runes

9 Digamma (ϝ)
Summary
The letter 'G' was introduced in the Old Latin period as a variant of 'C' to distinguish voiced /ɡ/
from voiceless /k/. The recorded originator of 'G' is freedman Spurius Carvilius Ruga, who added
letter G to the teaching of the Roman alphabet during the 3rd century BC.
Ruga's new letter G could have been added at the end of the alphabet, but Ruga replaced an
existing, superfluous letter Z by the new G and relocated the Z to the end of the alphabet.
The replacement of a dental letter (Z) by a palatal letter (G) disturbed the logic in the structure of
the Old Latin alphabet, in which the 2 nd row of the 2-dimensional table of the alphabet displayed
the theonym “(Þ)-I10-Ε5-V6-S” (“DIEUS”). The logic depends on the points of articulation (lingual,
labial, guttural, palatal and dental) of the letters.
This transit of the letter G3 → G7 caused a modification of the displayed theonym at the 2nd row of
the 2-dimensional table of the Latin alphabet from “(Þ)-I10-Ε5-V6-S” (“DIEUS”) to “G7-U6-(Þ)-Ε5-
S19“, which in the Latin alphabet may be interpreted as the abbreviated theonym “God” (“GUÞ” →
“GOD”).
The following sketch illustrates the transits of the letters G and Z, which had been reallocated by
freedman Spurius Carvilius Ruga.

Fig. 1 The transits of the letters G and Z, which had been reallocated
during the 3rd century BC by Spurius Carvilius Ruga

The added letter G was introduced to improve the teaching of the Roman alphabet during the 3rd
century BC.
Freedman Spurius Carvilius Ruga may have been unaware of the impact by his reorganization of
the alphabetical order.
The names “G7-U6-(Þ)-Ε5-S19“, “Gud” and “God” seem to be related to the sky-god “Dyeus” by
Ruga's transits of the letters G and Z in the Latin alphabet.

The Gothic alphabet, which was built on the Greek alphabet, did not shift the Z to the end of the
alphabet and refused to replace the dental letter Z to the G.
Contents
Abstract.................................................................................................................................................1
The historical episode...........................................................................................................................2
The initial Latin alphabet.................................................................................................................2
The modified Latin alphabet............................................................................................................3
The detailed activity of freedman Spurius Carvilius Ruga...................................................................4
The splitting of the functionality of the letters C and G..................................................................4
The impact of the letters' values as Greek numerals .......................................................................4
The impact of the transit of letters on the displayed theonyms.......................................................5
The result of the transit of the Latin 1 → 2 -alphabets....................................................................5
The etymology of the words God (GUDĄ) and DIEU........................................................................6
The role of the Goths.......................................................................................................................6
The Gothic language.............................................................................................................................7
The Gothic alphabet.........................................................................................................................7
The theonym ΦΕΙϚR (ÞEIVR) ......................................................................................................7
Summary...............................................................................................................................................8