Ogham

Ogham
An inscription found in 1975 in Ratass Church, Tralee, County Kerry
Type	Alphabet
Languages	Primitive Irish; Old Irish
Time period	c. 4th–10th centuries
Direction	Mixed
ISO 15924	Ogam, 212
Unicode alias	Ogham
Unicode range	U+1680–U+169F

Ogham (/ˈɒɡəm/; Modern Irish [ˈoːmˠ] or [ˈoːəmˠ]; Old Irish: ogam [ˈɔɣamˠ]) is an Early Medieval alphabet used to write the early Irish language (in the "orthodox" inscriptions, 1st to 6th centuries AD), and later the Old Irish language (scholastic ogham, 6th to 9th centuries). There are roughly 400 surviving orthodox inscriptions on stone monuments throughout Ireland and western Britain; the bulk of which are in southern Munster. The largest number outside Ireland are in Pembrokeshire, Wales.

The vast majority of the inscriptions consist of personal names.

According to the High Medieval Bríatharogam, names of various trees can be ascribed to individual letters.

The etymology of the word ogam or ogham remains unclear. One possible origin is from the Irish og-úaim 'point-seam', referring to the seam made by the point of a sharp weapon.

It has been argued that the earliest inscriptions in ogham date to about the 4th century AD, but James Carney believes its origin is rather within the 1st century BC. Although the use of "classical" ogham in stone inscriptions seems to have flowered in the 5th and 6th centuries around the Irish Sea, from the phonological evidence it is clear that the alphabet predates the 5th century. A period of writing on wood or other perishable material prior to the preserved monumental inscriptions needs to be assumed, sufficient for the loss of the phonemes represented by úath ("H") and straif ("Z" in the manuscript tradition, but probably "F" from "SW"), gétal (representing the velar nasal "NG" in the manuscript tradition, but etymologically probably "GW"), all of which are clearly part of the system, but unattested in inscriptions.