English 'slogan' from Scottish Gaelic 'sluagh-ghairm' (army-shout, battle cry) — from Highland clan war cries to modern advertising catchphrases.
A short, memorable phrase used in advertising or politics; a motto or rallying cry.
From Scottish Gaelic 'sluagh-ghairm' (battle cry, war cry), from 'sluagh' (host, army, people, crowd) + 'gairm' (shout, cry, call, proclamation). A slogan was originally the war cry of a Scottish Highland clan — bellowed to rally warriors and terrify enemies in the moment of battle. 'Sluagh' descends from Old Irish 'slóg' (host, army), from Proto-Celtic *slougos (people, military force), cognate with Old Welsh 'llu' (host, army). 'Gairm' is from Proto-Celtic *garmen- (call, shout), cognate with Latin 'garrire' (to chatter, to prattle). The semantic journey is striking: from clan battle
A 'slogan' was originally a Highland Scottish battle cry — 'sluagh-ghairm' literally means 'army-shout.' Each clan had its own slogan, shouted before charging into battle. The word's journey from Gaelic battlefields to Madison Avenue advertising agencies is one of the most dramatic semantic shifts in English. The Gaelic word 'sluagh' (army, host) also gives us 'slew' in the informal sense of 'a large number.'