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

Explanation

Ogham is an ancient 20-letter alphabet that was used for writing in Irish more than a thousand years ago. Although Ogham died out in the 7th century, it holds a lot of cultural importance as Ireland's earliest form of writing. The alphabet's 20 characters, based on lines and dashes, were carved into stone. You can still see some ancient Irish monuments with ogham inscriptions listing the names of families. Experts disagree on the etymology of ogham, but one theory says it's rooted in the Irish og-úaim, "point-seam," or "seam made by the point of a sharp weapon."

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 • Aug. 19, 2012

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

From BBC • Aug. 19, 2012

It was among lean-to’s and adaptations—past ogham atones commemorating some long-dead Deag the son of No, built into a later bastion upside down.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

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 The Story of Books by Rawlings, Gertrude Burford

It is more probable that Ogma's name is a derivative from some word signifying "speech" or "writing," and that the connection with "ogham" may be a mere folk-etymology.

From The Religion of the Ancient Celts by MacCulloch, J. A.