Randle Cotgrave

Randle Cotgrave (died 1634) was an English lexicographer who in 1611 compiled and published A Dictionarie of the French and English Tongues, a bilingual dictionary that represented a real breakthrough at the time and remains historically important.

Born to a Cheshire family, Cotgrave was educated at Cambridge University, entering St John's College in 1587. He was secretary to Lord Burghley before publishing his dictionary.

The suggestion that he died in 1634 is based on a misunderstanding. In fact, he died in 1652.

One interesting feature of Cotgrave's dictionary is that it includes many French proverbs, including some English equivalents, as well as a few in Latin.

External links

• A Dictionarie of the French and English Tongues - Scans of the original 1611 printing.

• Proverbs in Cotgrave

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

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