Old French-English Dictionary (review)

This dictionary is intended for a broad range of English speakers who work with Old French. It began as a computer database at the University of Hull and includes about 60,000 entries drawn from both literary and nonliterary texts written before approximately 1350. In addition to the head word, which is generally in the oblique case but sometimes in both subject and object case, entries list the word’s grammatical function and definition or definitions. Common locutions are also included. The introduction gives a brief history of and raison d’être for the dictionary project, an explanation of what it includes and how entries are structured, and help on using the dictionary, including a list of common spelling variants.

This work will be of particular interest to Anglophone readers who lack the French or German skills necessary to work with some of the other Old French dictionaries available, but its usefulness is certainly not limited to this group. It surpasses some earlier single-volume dictionaries in the number of words, including many dialectal forms, that are listed. It is meticulously cross-referenced for both grammatical form and spelling, and this helps in tracking down the meaning of unrecognized forms. It is both portable and affordable, though it is probably still a bit too costly for students. Another nice feature is its select bibliography, which includes Old French dictionaries, grammars, histories, anthologies, readers, and articles on the original database project.

The linguist working with Old French will find that this work does have certain drawbacks. One is that it does not include etymologies, citations, sources, or dates. Furthermore, dialectal forms are not identified as such. These omissions are understandable; including them would have resulted in a work whose sheer enormity would have greatly reduced its utility. It should be noted that the COFREL database (Computerized Old French-English Lexicon) from which this dictionary arose contains much more information, including the text and type of text in which a word was cited; its location within the text; its grammatical function; and its dialect, date, and meaning. At this time, though, COFREL is not publicly available.

The linguist will find this dictionary a good tool to have but will want to supplement it with other works, including the multi-volume and single-volume dictionaries cited in the bibliography. At the same time, the number of entries, clarity and completeness of definitions, and compact form of this work make it an excellent resource for students, translators, historians, medievalists, or anyone whose primary goal is to read Old French texts.