ogham

American  

[og-uhm, aw-guhm] / ˈɒg əm, ˈɔ gəm /

Or ogam

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.

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ogham British  

/ 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

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Etymology

Origin of ogham

1620–30; < Irish; MIr ogum, ogom

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.

From BBC

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

From BBC

These inscriptions are called in Ireland “ogham;” they are principally straight lines, grouped in different ways.

From Project Gutenberg

The Scandinavians honoured Odin as the first cutter of the mysterious runes, and the Irish derived their ogham from the sacred Ogma of the Tuatha de Danaan.

From Project Gutenberg

In Scotland spirals are commonly found on stones marked with ogham inscriptions, and it is remarkable that they should occur in New Caledonia in connexion with a dot ‘alphabet.’

From Project Gutenberg