César-Pierre Richelet
Encyclopedia
César-Pierre Richelet was a French grammarian and lexicographer, the editor
of the first dictionary
of the French language
.
. His first position was regent of the College of Vitry-le-François
, next preceptor in Dijon
. Received as an advocate in service to the Parliament of Paris, he abandoned his affairs for literature and researched the Society of Perrot d’Ablancourt and that of Petru. He strengthened his knowledge of classical languages and learned Italian and Spanish and applied himself above all to discovering the origins of the French language. He died in Paris
.
His caustic sense of humour earned him enemies; this first edition, of which there were several counterfeit foreign editions, contains satirical passages at the expense of notables of the day including Amelot de La Houssaye, Furetière, Varillas, and others.
Later editions of Richelet were published, both expurgated and augmented. Those that appeared after his death are distinguished by that of Pierre Aubert (Lyon, 1728, 3 vol. in-fol.) and that of Goujet (Ibid., 1759–63, 3 vol. in-fol.). Later editions were abridged such as that of Gattel (Paris, 1842, 2 vol. in-8).
Other works by Richelet are:
He was also the author of several untitled translations as well as:
His Dictionnaire français is distinguished in:
Editor in chief
An editor-in-chief is a publication's primary editor, having final responsibility for the operations and policies. Additionally, the editor-in-chief is held accountable for delegating tasks to staff members as well as keeping up with the time it takes them to complete their task...
of the first dictionary
Dictionary
A dictionary is a collection of words in one or more specific languages, often listed alphabetically, with usage information, definitions, etymologies, phonetics, pronunciations, and other information; or a book of words in one language with their equivalents in another, also known as a lexicon...
of the French language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
.
Life
Richelet was born in CheminonCheminon
Cheminon is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France....
. His first position was regent of the College of Vitry-le-François
Vitry-le-François
Vitry-le-François is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France. It is located on the Marne River and is the western terminus of the Marne-Rhine Canal.- History :In 1142, Louis VII invaded Champagne and seized Vitry-le-François...
, next preceptor in Dijon
Dijon
Dijon is a city in eastern France, the capital of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Burgundy region.Dijon is the historical capital of the region of Burgundy. Population : 151,576 within the city limits; 250,516 for the greater Dijon area....
. Received as an advocate in service to the Parliament of Paris, he abandoned his affairs for literature and researched the Society of Perrot d’Ablancourt and that of Petru. He strengthened his knowledge of classical languages and learned Italian and Spanish and applied himself above all to discovering the origins of the French language. He died in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
Works
He is the author of the first French dictionary compiled in a methodical way, published under the title of:- Dictionnaire françois, contenant les mots et les choses, plusieurs nouvelles remarques sur la langue française, ses expressions propres, figurées et burlesques, la prononciation des mots les plus difficiles, le genre des noms, le régime des verbes, avec les termes les plus communs des arts et des sciences: le tout tiré de l’usage et des bons auteurs de la langue française (Geneva, 1680).
His caustic sense of humour earned him enemies; this first edition, of which there were several counterfeit foreign editions, contains satirical passages at the expense of notables of the day including Amelot de La Houssaye, Furetière, Varillas, and others.
Later editions of Richelet were published, both expurgated and augmented. Those that appeared after his death are distinguished by that of Pierre Aubert (Lyon, 1728, 3 vol. in-fol.) and that of Goujet (Ibid., 1759–63, 3 vol. in-fol.). Later editions were abridged such as that of Gattel (Paris, 1842, 2 vol. in-8).
Other works by Richelet are:
- La Versification française, ou l’Art de bien faire et tourner les vers (Paris, 1671, in-12) *Commencements de la langue française, ou Grammaire tirée de l’usage et des bons auteurs (Ibid., 1694., in-12)
- Connaissance des genres français (Ibid., 1694, in-12)
He was also the author of several untitled translations as well as:
- Les plus belles Lettres des meilleurs auteurs français (Lyon, 1689, in-12 ; Paris, 1698, 2 vol. in-12) and editor of:
- Dictionnaire des rimes (Paris, 1667, in-12), which he attributed to himself but was the work of Fr. d’Ablancourt.
His Dictionnaire français is distinguished in:
- the rejection of dialectic words
- only including words in general use
- the rejection of archaic words
- the rejection of trivial words