description Albert Barrère Overview
Albert Barrère (1826-1896) was a French-born lexicographer who worked in English and French and specialized in colloquial language, slang, and criminal cant. His best-known reference work, Argot and Slang: A New French and English Dictionary of the Cant Words, published in 1887, records informal vocabulary across the two languages. The book is useful to historians of popular speech because it treats words often excluded from formal dictionaries.
help Albert Barrère FAQ
Who was Albert Barrère?
Albert Barrère was a French-born lexicographer who worked in both English and French. He lived from 1826 to 1896 and specialized in colloquial language, slang, and criminal cant.
What is Argot and Slang: A New French and English Dictionary about?
It is Barrère's best-known reference work on informal language, slang, and criminal cant across French and English. The work is associated with an 1887 publication date.
Why would someone use Barrère's dictionary instead of a standard French dictionary?
A standard dictionary may omit slang, colloquial expressions, and underworld vocabulary, while Barrère specifically focused on those areas. His subject was the language used outside formal literary or administrative French.
Did Albert Barrère document only French words?
No. His lexicographic work covered English and French, with attention to how slang and cant operate across the two languages.
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