The Dictionnaire de l’Académie Française has released its long-anticipated ninth edition after 40 years of work and 400 years of history. The new edition, presented to President Macron at the Collège des Quatre-Nations, concludes a meticulous process that began in 1986 and replaces the previous edition from 1935. Critics argue, however, that the slow pace of publication raises questions about its relevance, with some linguists labeling the effort as ‘excessively tardy and perfectly useless.’ The completion of this dictionary aims to provide clarity and elegance to the French language.