The French Academy is a large institution whose primary function is to standardize and perfect the French language. In order to carry out this vast program, 40 elected members sit to ensure the (gentle) evolution and preservation of our beautiful language.
As a result, one of the missions of this academy is to publish a dictionary aimed at collecting and fixing the use of French in France: the famous Dictionary of the French Academy, the first edition of which was published in 1694!
And the good news is that almost 330 years later, in February 2019, the Académie française put this famous dictionary online in its 9th edition!
This consultation tool, intended for the general public, currently provides access to the 9e edition (in the process of COMPLETION) and the 8e edition: before the end of the year, the seven previous editions will be added to these two editions, and for the first time the public will have access to the entire lexicographical enterprise carried out by the Academy since 1694.
And the result is really up to par since in addition to providing a tool whose content is of very high quality, the French Academy offers us a very well designed and very ergonomic site.
This sheet of course includes the definition of the word in question, its origin, related terms, neighboring words in the dictionary... but also the possibility of choosing the edition of the dictionary (for the moment the 8th and the 9th... but eventually the other 7).
In the long term, it will be possible to take a real journey through the history of our language. For example, the word Internet is only available in the 9th edition and is therefore absent from the previous ones… logical, because the 8th edition dates from 1932-35.
In addition, the Académie française has chosen to be open by offering gateways to other content, whether internal or external. Thus, for certain words when relevant, you will find links to the database FranceTerme more specialized in scientific and technical words or the BDLP (Pan-Francophone Lexicographic Database – that’s a name that stands out!) which is more interested in the lexical varieties of twenty French-speaking countries!
In short, it is a beautiful gift that the Académie française is (finally) giving to lovers of the French language! It took its time to modernize, but one thing is certain, it did it well!
