Old Hungarian small letter egy

It is an Old Hungarian letter for the consonant written gy today. Modern Hungarian uses the two-letter digraph gy for that single consonant. A lone 𐳎 is usually a letter sample, font test, or request to identify it—not a complete word.

The script was used to write Hungarian, first in short inscriptions cut into stone or wood, then in manuscripts with alphabets, calendars, notes, and ciphers. A 2024 survey dates the earliest known surviving relics to the late 13th century; a Unicode proposal reports short 12th–13th-century inscriptions and disputed 10th-century datings.

The script is linked to Old Turkic, though the exact route is debated. “Runic” describes its angular form; it does not establish descent from Germanic runes.

Why can this letter feel political?

The script’s later history made it an identity marker. A 2024 study traces its use by the Székelys, a Hungarian-speaking community, and later retellings: court writers presented the alphabet as evidence of Hun ancestry, while humanists linked its right-to-left direction to a supposed Hebrew–Hungarian connection. Modern users have revived competing alphabet versions for heritage, teaching, commerce, and politics.

That history affects how 𐳎 can read in public. In a language class or font sample it is technical; on a place-name or shop sign it can signal heritage. A 2024 study reports that some readers associate revived-script displays with the Hungarian party Jobbik and nationalist politics, while other users see cultural preservation.