Popular dictionary marks anniversary

The Petit Robert dictionary is 50 this year.

The first edition of the popular French dictionary was first published in 1967. It is an abridged version of the Dictionnaire alphabétique et analogique de la langue française, that lexicographer Paul Robert had compiled in 1953.

The Algerian-born Robert had spent six years researching and editing his original dictionary, after struggling with appropriate translations while completing his thesis as a student in 1945. He decided to group words alphabetically and by analogy to make them easier to reference.

Grandson Jérôme told France 3 news magazine show 13 Heures that his grandfather's love of 'the right word' prompted him to put together the dictionary. In 1950, before it was published, the original dictionary, which an to six volumes and one supplement published between 1953 and 1964, was awarded the prestigious Prix Saintour by L’Académie française, the guardians of the French language.