William J. Watson

Information about William J. Watson

Professor William J. Watson, 1865-1948, was a toponymist, one of the greatest Scottish scholars of the 20th century, and was the first scholar to place the study of Scottish place names on a firm linguistic basis.

Watson was a native Gaelic-speaker, born in Milton of New Tarbet, Easter Ross. He was the son of Hugh Watson, a blacksmith. He received his initial education from his uncle, James Watson. William became well grounded in Gaelic studies and in the Classics. William went to the University of Aberdeen and the University of Oxford.

First a school teacher in Glasgow, Inverness and then Edinburgh, it was while teaching in Inverness that be began to contribute to the Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness and the Celtic Review. He married Ella Carmichael daughter of Alexander Carmichael. He took the chair of Celtic at the University of Edinburgh in 1914, despite holding no prior university position. He remained in this prestigious position until making way for his son James Carmichael Watson in 1938. William died aged 83 on March 9, 1948

He is best known for his The Celtic Place-names of Scotland (1926), based on 30 years of work. Watson's work, eight decades later, is still the primary scholarly reference guide on the subject. The book is based on extensive notes taken by Watson, which are unpublished and held by Edinburgh University. Watson's great work was recently republished by Birlinn (2004) .

Select bibliography

  • Place-Names of Ross and Cromarty (Inverness, 1904)
  • Prints of the Past around Inverness (Inverness, 1909; 2nd revised edition Inverness, 1925)
  • Rosg Gàidhlig (Inverness, 1915; 2nd edition Glasgow, 1929)
  • Bàrdachd Gàidhlig (Inverness, 1915)
  • The Picts: their original position in Scotland (Inverness, 1921)
  • Ross and Cromarty (Cambridge, 1924)
  • The History of the Celtic Place-Names of Scotland (Edinburgh, 1926)
  • Scottish Verse in the Book of the Dean of Lismore (Edinburgh, 1937)

References and further reading

  • Savage, Steve, William J Watson: Scottish Place-Name Papers, (London, 2002)
  • Watson, W. J., , History of the Celtic Place-Names of Scotland, (Edinburgh, 1926), reprinted, with an Introduction, full Watson bibliography and corrigenda by Simon Taylor (Edinburgh, 2004).
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Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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Toponymy refers to the scientific study of place-names (toponyms), their origins, meanings, use and typology. The first part of the word is derived from the Greek topos (τόπος), place; followed by ōnoma
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twentieth century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1901 and ended on December 31, 2000, according to the Gregorian calendar. Some historians consider the era from about 1914 to 1991 to be the Short Twentieth Century.
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Scottish Gaelic}}} 
Official status
Official language of: Scotland
Regulated by: Bòrd na Gàidhlig
Language codes
ISO 639-1: gd
ISO 639-2: gla
ISO 639-3: gla

Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig
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Easter Ross is a loosely defined area in the east of Ross, Highland, Scotland.

The name is used in the constituency name Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, which is the name of both a British House of Commons constituency and a Scottish Parliament constituency.
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blacksmith is a person who creates objects from iron or steel by "forging" the metal; i.e., by using hand tools to hammer, bend, cut, and otherwise shape it in its non-liquid form. Usually the metal is heated until it glows red or orange as part of the forging process.
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Classics or Classical Studies is the branch of the Humanities dealing with the languages, literature, history, art, and other aspects of the ancient Mediterranean world; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during the time known as classical antiquity, roughly
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University of Aberdeen is an ancient university founded in 1495, in Old Aberdeen, Scotland and a world-renowned centre for teaching and research. It is the fifth oldest university in the United Kingdom and the wider English-speaking world.
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University of Oxford (usually abbreviated as Oxon. for post-nominals, from "Oxoniensis"), located in the city of Oxford, England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world.
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Glasgow
Gaelic - Glaschu
Scots - Glesca, Glesga


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Inverness
Gaelic - Inbhir Nis


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Edinburgh
Gaelic - Dùn Èideann
Scots - Edinburgh[1]
Auld Reekie, Athens of the North


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Alexander Carmichael (1832 - 1912) was a writer and folklorist born in Taylochan, Lismore, best known for his multi volume work Carmina Gadelica. He was an exciseman and in the course of his travels was able to collect extensive folkore.
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University of Edinburgh (Scottish Gaelic: Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann), founded in 1582,[4] is a renowned centre for teaching and research in Edinburgh, Scotland.
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March 9 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

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Book of the Dean of Lismore (Scottish Gaelic: Leabhar Deathan Lios Mòir) is a famous Scottish manuscript, compiled in eastern Perthshire in the first half of the 16th century.
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