Iseabail C. Macleod (27 May 1936 – 15 February 2018) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

lexicographer Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries. * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries. * Theoretica ...

Early life

Iseabail C. Macleod was born in

Dalmuir Dalmuir (; gd, Dail Mhoire) is an area northwest of Glasgow, Scotland, on the western side of Clydebank, and part of West Dunbartonshire Council Area. The name is a lowland Scots derivation of the Gaelic meaning Big Field. The area was ...

, in

West Dunbartonshire West Dunbartonshire ( sco, Wast Dunbairtonshire; gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Breatann an Iar, ) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. The area lies to the west of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's commuter to ...

. Her parents were native

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

speakers. Her father was a policeman. In childhood, she was evacuated with her mother and younger brother Iain to

Achiltibuie Achiltibuie (; gd, Achd Ille Bhuidhe or ''Field of the yellow-haired boy'') is a long linear village in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, on the Coigach coast of northwestern Scotland, overlooking Badentarbet Bay to the west. Loch Broom and the Summ ...

in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland ...

, for safety during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. She completed a master's degree in languages at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

in 1957.

Career

Iseabail Macleod taught languages in schools in Austria and Scotland as a young woman, but soon moved into editorial work. She began working on dictionaries during a job at reference publisher William Collins and Sons in Glasgow, and moved to Edinburgh in 1975, as editor at another reference publisher, W & R Chambers, and then became a freelance editor. She was Editorial Director of the

Scottish National Dictionary Association The Scottish National Dictionary Association (SNDA) was founded in 1929 to foster and encourage the Scots language, in particular by producing a standard dictionary of modern Scots. This primary aim was fulfilled in 1976 with the completion of the 1 ...

from 1986 to 2002. In that role, she oversaw the technological transitions that brought the ''Scots School Dictionary'' onto CD-ROM, for classroom use. "There are many things which you can say in

Scots Scots usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: * Scots language, a language of the West Germanic language family native to Scotland * Scots people, a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland * Scoti, a Latin na ...

which are much more difficult to express in English," she explained of the dictionary's value for young learners. In the

2001 New Year Honours The 2001 New Year Honours List is one of the annual New Year Honours, a part of the British honours system, where New Year's Day, 1 January, is marked in several Commonwealth countries by appointing new members of orders of chivalry and recipient ...

, she was named a member of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

for her work on Scots dictionaries. She was also an Honorary Fellow of the

Association for Scottish Literary Studies The Association for Scottish Literary Studies (ASLS) is a Scottish educational charity, founded in 1970 to promote and support the teaching, study and writing of Scottish literature. Its founding members included the Scottish literary scholar Ma ...

Personal life

Macleod was an active skier, walker and hiker until her last years. She died 15 February 2018, in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, aged 81 years, after a stroke.

Publications

*''Concise English-Scots Dictionary'' (1985) *''Pocket Guide to Scottish Words'' (1986) *''The Scots Thesaurus'' (1990) *''The Pocket Guide to Scottish Words'' (1991) *''The Wordsworth Dictionary of First Names'' (1995) *''Scotland : a linguistic double helix'' (1995) *''Edinburgh Pocket Guide'' (1996) *''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Scotland'' (2004) *''The Pocket Scots Dictionary'' *''The Pocket Guide to Scottish Place-names'' (2010) *''Scotland in Definition: A History of Scottish Dictionaries'' (2012) *''Scots: Studies in its Literature and Language'' (2013) *''Scoor-oot: A Dictionary of Scots Words and Phrases in Current Use'' (2015)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macleod, Iseabail 1936 births 2018 deaths Members of the Order of the British Empire Scots language Scottish lexicographers Women lexicographers 20th-century lexicographers 21st-century lexicographers People from Clydebank

External links

Remembrances of Iseabail Macleod
a page of personal tributes and links to obituary notices.
Iseabail's list of Scots language dictionaries
Scots Language Centre.