ogham

Or og·am

[og-uhm, aw-guhm]

noun

1. an alphabetic script used originally for inscriptions in an archaic form of Irish, from about the 5th to the 10th centuries.

2. any of the 20 characters of this script, each consisting of one or more strokes for consonants and of notches for vowels cut across or upon a central line on a stone or piece of wood.

3. an inscription employing this script.

ogham

/ ɔːm, ˈɒɡəm /

noun

1. an ancient alphabetical writing system used by the Celts in Britain and Ireland, consisting of straight lines drawn or carved perpendicular to or at an angle to another long straight line

Word History and Origins

Origin of ogham¹

1620–30; < Irish; MIr ogum, ogom

Word History and Origins

Origin of ogham¹

C17: from Old Irish ogom, of uncertain origin but associated with the name Ogma, legendary inventor of this alphabet

Example Sentences

Remains of the timbers of an Iron Age house destroyed by fire were among the finds made An ogham inscription on a piece of bone was uncovered.

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A piece of bone marked with an ogham inscription, an ancient text that arrived in Scotland from Ireland, was also found.

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When a king died, his people raised his ferta, set up his stone, and engraved upon it, at least in later times, his name in ogham.

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