Taghairmn.
/ˈtaɡərəm/, U.S. /ˈtæɡərəm/, Scottish English /ˈtaɡərəm/ Scottish.
A method of divination formerly practised in the Scottish Highlands (see quots.).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > divination by natural phenomena > divination through supernatural forces > [noun]
Taghairm1774
1774 T. Pennant Tour Scotl. 1772 311 A vast cataract, whose waters falling from a high rock, jet so far as to form a dry hollow beneath... One of these imposters was sowed up in the hide of an ox, and..was placed in this concavity: the trembling enquirer was brought to the place, where the shade, and the roaring of the waters, encreased the dread of the occasion. The question is put, and the person in the hide delivers his answer, and so ends this species of divination styled Taghairm.
1810 W. Scott Lady of Lake iv. 146 Brian an augury hath tried, Of that dread kind which must not be Unless in dread extremity, The Taghairm called; by which, afar, Our sires foresaw the events of war.
1906 Athenæum 2 June 668/3 Another saying, ‘Keep the cat turning’, refers to the horrid practice of the Taghairm, or divination by the cat.
1953 Scots Mag. Dec. 223 Taghairm was, indeed, a magical means of compelling spiritual presences to grant desirable and valuable boons to the sorcerer who invoked them.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1933; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1774