n a word of doubtful meaning, expressing woe, calamity, ill omen .

(a) acc. to Cormac's glossary the name given to a rod of yew, kept in pagan graveyards and used for measuring corpses and graves: ocus ba huath fri cāch a gabāil inda lāim, ┐ cach rēt ba adētchidhe la cāch dobentai frie nō dobertis trie ogham indti, unde in proverbium uenit "fé fris," amail is n-adētc[h]ide in flesc cui nomen fē, sic et alia res cui comparatur and everyone feared to handle it, and anything that was hateful to anyone used to be compared to it or they would write it on it in ogham, unde , etc. Corm. Y 606 . He quotes in illustration: ... ō rotoimsed fē fri Fland (= since F. died) ib. toirsech bass de, rothoimsech [ = —d] fé fri cnes rígḟer, Metr. Dinds. iii 186z ( v 253 s.v. fé). Quoted H 4.22, 37a : ro toimsed fe (.i. in tslat tomuis) fri cnes rigfer, O'Curry 2018 . Hence, probably, fé .i. slat thomhais úaighe a rod for measuring a grave O'Cl. Cf. fae crand o tomaister uag. ut Senchan dixit crand frisinapar fae, LL 161a marg. sup. erchra fer fe fe flesg, Auraic. 4299 .

(b) grief, lamentation (?): fe .i. fearg, Lec. Gl. 153 . co tur-gabsat [Laigin] múr dergi fri Ulto. ór ba gess do Ultaib dul dar múr nderg. Ba fe ille ┐ ba fe innund immorro in comrac the conflict was disastrous on both sides (?) LL 115b40 ( RC viii 56.13 ). ba fe ille ┐ inund in comrucsin, LL 407b37 . die mbia fe innund fe ille in luan os Martartaig, ZCP xii 236 § 1 . atragat na sluaig. Robái fe [in]nund ┐ fe anall in dú sin, essgal ┐ tessgal, LL 111a42 ( RC xiv 426.16 ). ba fe ille ┐ innund in comracsin, TTr.² 1314 . ba fae do cechtar de comriachtain and acht ba messu dona gallaib it was ill for both sides Cog. 46.11 (fi v.l.). ba fae do cechta[r]de a comriachtain, 58.20 .

(c) as interj.: fé frisin fiacail `woe for the tooth!' (see supra, a) Fianaig. 36.14 . fae riit .i. cafned, LL 161a marg. sup. fē scēl `wehe über die Neuigkeit!' Ält. Ir. Dicht. ii 17 . fé mo es[s]e ol atú (.i. truagh mo bheith mar ataim), ZCP v 485 § 1 (B. na f.). Oft. with amae: fe amae RC iii 185.4 . LU 3279 ( SCC 7 ). fe fe amái, Ériu iii 141.197 . fé (trúagh) .i. ue armai .i. lim amin .i. ué, ZCP viii 107.5 . By glossators derived from Lat. vae: fe ab eo quod est ue , Corm. Y 606 .

Cf. next.