Henry Comyn Maitland served as a magistrate and judge in Bengal 1908-1925, and practised as a barrister in London till 1939. During World War II he lived in Edinburgh, but spent several months each year at Iochdar, South Uist. The dictionary was mainly compiled between 1939 and his death. The dictionary consists of about 30,000 slips. Each slip bears a Gaelic quotation with English translation and reference. The quotations are drawn from periodicals and other printed works, chiefly prose.