The language of Molière and its subtleties… But also, his slang. The 2023 edition of Le Petit Robert gives pride of place to popular language by integrating surprising new words, and others linked to the economic situation, which have recently made a place for themselves in our informal discussions.

Every year, between 150 and 200 new words enter the famous dictionary, explains Géraldine Moinard, editorial director of Petit Robert, to the newspaper Le Monde.

How are they chosen? They must meet a very specific list of criteria, as follows:

Often, therefore, we find, in the lucky ones, words from or inspired by foreign countries, but also local specificities.

In 2020, the Petit Robert thus integrates in its pages the word “spoiled”, (in the sense of “hug”), very popular in the South of France,

Other names appear in the dictionary because they are symptomatic of an era, and they have therefore entered everyday language. The term “feminicide” has been mentioned in the editions of Petit Robert since 2015.

In 2020, moreover, “the words coronavirus, covid, confinement, deconfinement thus made their entry (or the subject of an update) in our digital dictionaries”, specifies the dictionary site.

The pages of the pavement that many schoolchildren exchange each year characterize the French language in all its aspects, from the most sustained to the most common, with the aim of reflecting society and the evolution of language as well as possible.

2023 is no exception to the rule. Can you guess the meaning of these 7 new words, which will be added to the new edition of Petit Robert?