stand to one another, that Ogma was so called from Ogam or that with which he had to do. Supposing that the latter word, the meaning of which is only a matter of inference, signified a letter or a written character, then Ogma would mean he who had to do with writing—the inventor, let us say, of writing; but that is inadmissible, as the Celts probably had no knowledge of writing when the god was first called Ogmios. So we have to look for the key to the meaning of the word Ogam in the direction of spoken rather than of written language. In Scotland, Ogmic writing does not appear to have become known till it was nearly going out of use in Ireland; so one is not surprised to find that in Scotch Gaelic the word Ogam, which is there written oidheam, had no technical meaning, its ordinary significations being that of 'a notion of anything, an idea, inference, meaning, hint;' to which are to be added that of a 'book or pamphlet,' which it is also said to have had.[1] We have probably cognate words in the Greek ὄγμος, 'any straight line, a furrow, a swathe in reaping, a path or orbit;' Sanskrit ajma-s, 'a course, run, expedition;' ajman, which had the meaning of the cognate Latin agmen, as when employed in speaking of waters, of boatmen's oars, and of speech.[2] The various conditions of the problem of fixing the meaning attached to the word Ogam, and the word standing in the same order of priority to Ogmios in Gaulish as Ogam does to Ogma in Irish, seem best satisfied by supposing the common noun to have meant a round or train of words, fluent speech or ready utterance. This harmonizes well with
