Antoine Furetière
A defiant French lexicographer whose groundbreaking dictionary got him expelled from the prestigious Académie Française for daring to compete.
1619–1688 (age 69)·French writer and scholar·Birthday: December 28
Biography
Antoine Furetière was a 17th-century French writer and scholar whose ambition collided spectacularly with the establishment. A satirical novelist best known for 'Le Roman Bourgeois,' which lampooned Parisian society, he was also a cleric and a member of the elite Académie Française. His great project, however, was a comprehensive dictionary of the French language, which he believed should include modern technical and scientific terms—a scope the slow-moving Académie's own dictionary lacked. When he sought to publish his work, the Académie accused him of plagiarism and breach of its monopoly, expelling him in a famous scandal. Furetière's 'Dictionnaire Universel' was published posthumously and became a foundational reference, proving the value of his vision and cementing his legacy as a maverick of letters.
#1 When Antoine Was Born
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Antoine's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1619Born
1624Started school
1632Became a teenager
1635Could drive
1637Could vote
1640Turned 21
1649Turned 30
1659Turned 40
1669Turned 50
1679Turned 60
1688Died at 69
Key Achievements
- Authored the satirical novel 'Le Roman Bourgeois,' a critique of Parisian literary and social manners.
- Compiled the pioneering 'Dictionnaire Universel,' a comprehensive French dictionary published after his death.
- Was elected a member of the Académie Française in 1662.
- His dictionary controversy highlighted tensions between institutional control and intellectual independence in publishing.
Did You Know?
He was a canon of the Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois church in Paris.
Furetière's expulsion from the Académie Française in 1685 was a major literary scandal of the era.
His dictionary included many common words and tradesmen's terms omitted by the Académie's more literary project.
He engaged in a long and public pamphlet war with the Académie defending his work.
“A dictionary should record the living language of the people, not just the salon.”
