William Laughton Lorimer
Encyclopedia
William Laughton Lorimer (1885-1967) was born at Strathmartine
on the outskirts of Dundee
, Scotland
. He was educated at the High School of Dundee
, Fettes College
, and Trinity College, Oxford
. He is best known for the translation of the New Testament
into Lowland Scots
. He spent his professional life as a scholar of Ancient Greek at various universities, ending his career as Professor of Greek at the University of St Andrews
. However he also had a lifelong interest in Lowland Scots and besides the translation, was a longtime contributor to the Scottish National Dictionary
. For the last ten years of his life he worked on translating the New Testament from the original Greek sources into Scots. Although he did not finish the final revision of his translation, the work was completed by his son and published posthumously on his behalf in 1983.
Strathmartine
Strathmartine is an area of Angus, Scotland . It is to the north of Dundee and the surrounding district is often referred to as "the Howe o Strathmartine". William Lorimer, the classicist, known for producing a translation of the New Testament in Lowland Scots was born in Strathmartine...
on the outskirts of Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. He was educated at the High School of Dundee
High School of Dundee
The High School of Dundee is an independent, co-educational, day school in the city of Dundee, Scotland which provides both primary and secondary education to just over one thousand pupils...
, Fettes College
Fettes College
Fettes College is an independent school for boarding and day pupils in Edinburgh, Scotland with over two thirds of its pupils in residence on campus...
, and Trinity College, Oxford
Trinity College, Oxford
The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope , or Trinity College for short, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It stands on Broad Street, next door to Balliol College and Blackwells bookshop,...
. He is best known for the translation of the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
into Lowland Scots
Scots language
Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
. He spent his professional life as a scholar of Ancient Greek at various universities, ending his career as Professor of Greek at the University of St Andrews
University of St Andrews
The University of St Andrews, informally referred to as "St Andrews", is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge. The university is situated in the town of St Andrews, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It was founded between...
. However he also had a lifelong interest in Lowland Scots and besides the translation, was a longtime contributor to the Scottish National Dictionary
Scottish National Dictionary
The Scottish National Dictionary was produced by the Scottish National Dictionary Association from 1931 to 1976 and documents the Modern Scots language. The original editor, William Grant, was the driving force behind the collection of Scots vocabulary...
. For the last ten years of his life he worked on translating the New Testament from the original Greek sources into Scots. Although he did not finish the final revision of his translation, the work was completed by his son and published posthumously on his behalf in 1983.