# Walter Skeat

## Biography

Walter William Skeat was a prominent British philologist and Anglican deacon, born on November 21, 1835, in London. Educated at King's College School, Highgate School, and Christ's College, Cambridge, he later became a fellow at Christ's College in 1860. Skeat was instrumental in establishing the English language as a significant subject in higher education. He served as a mathematics lecturer at Cambridge before becoming the Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon in 1878, a position he held until his death.

Skeat is best known for his extensive work in Middle English, producing authoritative editions of Geoffrey Chaucer and William Langland's *Piers Plowman*. His seminal work, *An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language*, published in 1882, became a standard reference. He also founded and served as the only president of the English Dialect Society, aiming to compile materials for *The English Dialect Dictionary*. Skeat’s contributions significantly advanced the study of English language history and etymology. He passed away on October 6, 1912, in Cambridge.

## Books

- [A Concise Dictionary of Middle English from A.D. 1150 to 1580](https://samolit.com/books/95931)