Hi all,

I have searched the internet for help but have found conflicting answers. I would like to get a bracelet engraved with Ogham but have a few questions.

I would like the word "brother" but I think (and just wanted to check) that it should first be translated into gaelic which I believe would be "bráthair"?

If this is the case can you please confirm that if vertical it should read from bottom to top and if horizontal it should read from right to left?

Thank you in advance for your help!!!

Erin

It could be that - bráthair can mean a religious brother or someone who belongs to the same fellowship or organisation as you do, otherwise if you mean a family member of yours, it would be - deartháir. Brother in arms is - compánach cogaidh.

The word bráthair is older, and is cognate with similar words in other Indo-European languages (like "brother" in English). During the Christian era, it came to be used for religious brothers or in generic contexts (like "we are all brothers") and the word deartháir (a compound word which means "real brother" or "blood brother") came to be used more commonly for one's sibling, at least in Ireland. In Scotland, bràthair is still used for one's sibling (note the difference in the accents).

In the days when Ogham was actually used, bráthair would probably have been a lot more common, so you might want to use it for that reason, although most examples of original Ogham writing consist of simple names and dedications, so there aren't really texts to tell us whether it was used for other things.

This link takes you to a site with all sorts of Ogham-related info:
http://www.evertype.com/standards/og/ogmharc.html

This link takes you to a site which can help in transcribing Latin letters into Ogham:
http://nuacht1.com/ogham

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I'm not a native (or entirely fluent) speaker, so be sure to wait for confirmations/corrections, especially for tattoos.

Thank you both so much! Will check out the links now