DARMESTETER, ARSNE

born , Jan. 5, 1846, Chteau-Salins, Fr. died Nov. 16, 1888, Paris language scholar who advanced knowledge of the history of French, particularly through his elucidation of Old French. Prior to becoming professor of Old French language and literature at the Sorbonne (1881), he published Trait de la formation des mots . . . (1873; Treatise on the Formation of Words . . .) and La Vie des mots . . . (1887; The Life of Words . . .). He collaborated with the French linguists Adolphe Hatzfeld and Antoine Thomas on the preparation of Dictionnaire gnral de la langue franaise . . . 2 vol. (18901900; General Dictionary of the French Language . . .). Arsne Darmesteter was the brother of the Orientalist James Darmesteter.