On Thursday 7 December 2017 the new version of the Concise Scots Dictionary will be launched at Edinburgh University. First published in 1985 the CSD has become the standard reference work for the Scots language and is founded on over 100 years of continuous research. It is primarily an etymological dictionary, that is, a dictionary which provides information about the origins of individual words, when they are first recorded, from which languages they derive, and how and where the words have been used across the centuries. The latest version is now 912 pages and details both Older Scots (pre 1700) and Modern Scots (post 1700) along with 1,100 new words, usages, idioms, phrases and proverbs not previously included. There is a very useful introduction to the language together with a phonetic guide and phonetic transcriptions are provided throughout. All ten dialects of Scots in Scotland, from the Borders to Shetland (including much new material on Orkney and Shetland) are included.

Researchers Rhona Alcorn and Pauline Cairns Speitel are shown holding the new CSD which is a must reference work for anyone serious about speaking, reading, writing or researching the language. The book is priced 29.99 and is available from Edinburgh University Press, Blackwells, Waterstones and other good bookshops. For a limited period the CSD may be purchased for the discount price of 20.99 if ordered direct from Edinburgh University Press using the discount code New30.