Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1965 (SND Vol. VI).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1708, 1768, 1823-1900, 1954-1961
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LIMN, v., n. Sc. usages. [lɪm]
I. v. As in Eng.: to paint (a portrait). Agent n. limner, a portrait-painter. Liter. or arch. in Eng. The word is retained in official usage of the Royal portrait-painter who is one of the Officers of the Household in Scotland, a post dating from 1580.Sc. 1708 Burgh Rec. Gsw. (1908) 422:
The provest … bought from Mr Scowgall, limner in Edinburgh, tuo portrays, the one of King William and the other of Queen Mary.Ayr. 1768 Ayr Presbytery Reg. MS. (17 Feb.):
After sermons I went with him and one Duff a Limner, to a publick house.Sc. 1823 Biog. Dict. Eminent Scotsmen (1855) IX. 619:
At this period, also, he [Sir David Wilkie] was appointed limner to the King for Scotland, in consequence of the death of Sir Henry Raeburn.Lnk. 1862 W. Hunter Biggar 21:
His limner's han' and fancy keen.Sc. 1889 R. Brydall Art in Scot. 99:
J. Malcolm Wright … in 1700 solicited from the king the then vacant appointment of King's Limner in Scotland.Sc. 1961 Whitaker's Almanac 217:
Her Majesty's Household in Scotland. Painter and Limner, Stanley Cursiter, C.B.E,. R.S.A., R.S.W., F.R.S.E.
II. n. A portrait, a likeness, a replica, lit. and fig., applied also to a photograph (Ork., Ayr. 1961).Ayr. c.1900:
A child would be said to be “the very limn” of his father.Ayr. 1954:
Is his limn still there outside the dining-room?
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"Limn v., n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 17 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/limn>
