Etymology Map
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Ogham

2 stages from Old Irish to English.

Today it means an ancient Irish alphabet of strokes along a line or stone edge

Where does the word "ogham" come from? It comes from Old Irish ogam, adopted directly into English (1620s).

1
Stage 1 of 2
ogam
Old Irish · 400s
"ogham script"
an alphabet of notches cut along the edge of a stone; around 400 inscriptions survive, most in southern Ireland, and medieval tradition credited its invention to the god Ogma
2
Stage 2 of 2
ogham
English · 1620s
"early Irish alphabet"
scholars could read the stones thanks to a key preserved in the Book of Ballymote, a manuscript of about 1390
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Read the full story

Ogham’s story begins in Old Irish: ogam meant “ogham script.” An alphabet of notches cut along the edge of a stone; around 400 inscriptions survive, most in southern Ireland, and medieval tradition credited its invention to the god Ogma. It reached English by 1620s as ogham. Scholars could read the stones thanks to a key preserved in the Book of Ballymote, a manuscript of about 1390. Today, ogham means an ancient Irish alphabet of strokes along a line or stone edge.