Customer Reviews

Cassell's French & English Dictionary

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I use this dictionary in reading European literature and upon encountering French phrases, (such as in War and Peace (Vintage Classics) and in Agatha Christie mysteries.) It's also useful during my intermittent trips to Canada.

Here's what you get:

-- 55,000 entries
-- different meanings of the same word (e.g., "lead") are separate and numbered
-- the verb guides are helpful
-- there are 658 pages in total
-- it's pretty easy and fast to find the word you're looking for

For me, here are the drawbacks:

-- while the publishers state, "legible and easy to read," I would challenge them on this point. I need a magnifying glass to clearly see the punctuation marks. The fonts are very small.
-- while this volume proclaims to be a "dictionary," don't expect any actual definitions... there are none. So I was lost on words such as "loggerhead" ("lourdaud"), "usurious" ("usurier") and, "affray" (bagarre). I still don't know what they mean.
-- this book contains no obscenities -- maybe that suits some folks but when I encounter such words in text or as people speak them (very common today), this book will not help me determine what was said. Merde!!!
-- Pocket-sized (as claimed)? Well... if you have really big military-type pockets.

And if you are expecting an up-to-date French-English dictionary, this isn't it. It was revised and subsequently published by Macmillan in 1966 from the original 1904 edition. As far as I could determine, it hasn't been revised since then -- just reprinted. This likely explains the total absence of obscene words which the publishers no doubt wanted to keep mum from curious high school French language students.

This book works okay for me, the casual user, but I suspect that you could find a better one out there given a little research.

This is very comprehensive and has helped enormously with my French studies.

As a Vocal Performance student, this resource is necessary for learning to pronounce the word properly as well as understanding the meaning of the word. The IPA is great. The definitions are concise. This is the Best all around dictionary with IPA that I've found. You can't go wrong with it!

I went to High School in the 80s when I learned German. I used many dictionaries and always found my father's old Cassell's to be the best. I could simply always find what I was looking for.

In the late 90s I had to learn French, I was surprised again to notice that Cassell's was the easiest dictionary to use. Originally, I thought that each dictionary would have its own characteristics and couldn't see how a publisher could really affect this.

And now... I'm on to learning Spanish. And will again be reaching for Cassell's! I've spent a lot of time in my life looking up words... I can tell you now: do yourself a favor and by this dictionary.

In the end, you'll save time.

JP

This French-English dictionary is a must have. Great translations for everyone in a French class anywhere. Au Revoir!

If you are training to be a classical singer, this dictionary will become your best friend!
Totally recommended!

Cassell's. . . A brand new copy of an old friend, to replace a well-worn, falling apart old one. A treasure for writers and translators.

This was a great dictionary. It was easy to find and understand the definitions listed!

I purchased the Cassell's French & English Dictionary while I was taking a college French class as an online course. The course was actually designed as a 16 week course which I took as an 8 week session, so needless to say, it was intense. This dictionary kept me sane, and provided all the tools I needed to earn an "A" (97%) as my final grade. It was a wonderful help, and highly recommended.

I was pleased to find that the book was in good condition just as specified by the seller. In fact this book was exactly as I expected based on the information that was posted on amazon. It will be perfect for my French class, plus it was cheap. :)