n [o ?], n, m. (< oll `great'
Ériu xviii 54
). d
s.
ollum,
Ériu xviii 54
. g
s.
olloman,
LU 302
,
361
. a
s. (? d
s.)
eter ríg ┐ ollomain,
10306
.
ollamh,
IGT Dec. § 51
(g
s. oll-aimh,
-amhan
; n
p.
-aimh
,
-amhain; a
p. -amha, -amhna). Both declensions are used side
by side in late Mid.Ir. and early mod. texts, the o-st. being
preferred in sing., the n-st. in pl.
(a) An ollave, the highest grade of `fili' (in O.Ir.
ollam may have denoted an office as much as a grade of learning; later used to denote the grade alone,
UR 91-94
),
Laws v 26.25
(ollum).
filid oldam, anroth, clí, etc.,
ZCP v 499 § 7.
secht ngrad filed
.i. ollam, ansrut[h], etc.,
O'Mulc. 537.
He was entitled to a
retinue of 30, a number lowered to 24 at the Convention of
Druim Cet in 590:
no bid .xxx. i cléir cac[h] olloman,
LU 302.
ro dígbait iar sein a clíara .i. xxiiii. i cléir ind olloman,
361
.
ollamh .i. oll a dhámh .xx.iiii.,
Corm. p. 33
=
[o]lldam,
Corm. Y 993
. His specific form of poetic composition was the
`anamain' (`mór' and `bec'):
anamna ollaman,
IT iii 31.25
;
59 § 112
,
§113
.
anamaín . . . is dán olloman,
Corm. Y 39
; cf.
O'Dav. 1072
,
O'Mulc. 537.
An ollave was attached to the
court of each of the provincial kings, often to those of sub-
kings; and there seems (at some periods) to have been an
`ard-ollam' who exercised authority over all the provincial
`filidh'.
int ollam filedh iarna uirdned ag rig tuath,
Laws i
42 z Comm.
ollamh Uladh Fercertne,
TBC-LL¹ 5467
St.
Gilla C.
Ua Slebin ollum Ulad,
Cog. 120.2
.
ar ollamh nUladh,
TD 3.9
.
The inferior grades of `filidh' had to discharge various offices
for the ollave, such as keeping his two dogs (task of the `cana')
and fostering his children (that of the `drisech'); and the
erenaghs (airchindig eclaisi) had to maintain his horses,
H 3.18 p. 133
(
O'Curry 239
). Among his functions, acc. to the
same passage, was that of guarding the King from occult
dangers: dlegar don ollam beith i fail in rig im snamad (leg.
samain) dia snadad ar siabrud, ib. See further
Heldensage
66 fg.
In wider sense:
am ollom, am gáeth,
LU 10628
=
IT
i 141.5
(loquitur Sencha m. Ailella).
ollam britheman,
LL
29b21
. Later an expert in any art or science, a professor
:
ollam
breithemhnachta Ua Failghe,
AFM ii 888.18
.
ollam Tuad-
Muman re timpanacht,
AU ii 510.18 (an. 1360)
.
ard-ollamh
Ereann i ccruitirecht,
AFM ii 1170.12
. ardollam a scribiund,
RC xviii 193.13
(Tig.). ollamh legha Fer Manach `chief physi-
cian',
AU iii 346.8 (an. 1490).
ollamh leighis Fearmanach,
AFM
iii 554 z
. clann Chraith a ollamhain ré dán, clann Chruitín a
ollamhain ré seanchus (of O'Brien, chief of Thomond),
Keat.
iii 179
. ollam cerda a master craftsman (of Daedalus),
ZCP iv
238.26
. secht n-ollumain ghabhunn master smiths,
Lism. L.
2931
. mur ollamh cuarta . . . nā mes misi do not count me a
vagrant bard,
ZCP ii 348.18
(late 16th cent.). Of a woman:
ba
hollamh i ngach eagna i,
Ériu v 78.12
.
(b)
chief
: ollam ard … caide side? nï, amail [rond-gab] rí Connacht… 'a high o. … what manner of man is this? For example, the king of Connacht'
Ériu xviii 49-50 (Míadṡlechta)
. In early poetry used of warriors: mandrais arma athar
ollam as a master he destroyed the weapons of his [grand]father
Ält. Ir. Dicht. ii 7 § 4
(text uncertain). caine dind dem i foat
ollomain (of the burial-grounds of warriors),
ib. 20.6
(=
ollo-
mhan,
LL 380a12
).
As npr. in the name (prob. a title) of Ollam Fodla, one of
the early kings of Ireland:
dá mac la Fiacha Fínsgothach .i.
Eochaid (qui et Ollam Fodla) ┐ Araidhe,
Cóir Anm. 249.
docer
Ailderg Dóit . . . la hOllomain,
MacCarthy 164 z
(
LL 127b52
).
co éc Olloman,
MacCarthy 166.3
(
LL 128a1
).
mac Ollaim Fodla
,
MacCarthy 296 k
(
BB 12a35
).
is uime ghairthear Ollamh Fódla dé, do bhrígh
go raibhe 'n-a ollamh i n-eagna ┐ i n-eolus ré reachtaibh is ré
dlighthibh d'ordughadh,
Keat. ii 2057.
Compd.
¤thairngertaid m.
ollave-elect
,
Tromd. Guaire 224.