Beyoncé is one of several new words in French dictionary
In its 2025 edition, the French encyclopedic dictionary Larousse highlights stars like Beyoncé and LeBron James among 150 new words.
Anyone who has listened to Beyoncé’s “Partition” has heard the French pronunciation of her name. However, the influence of global superstars will now be documented in a French dictionary.
This week, French outlet France24 reported that the upcoming edition of the French encyclopedic dictionary Larousse will feature 150 new words, with one of those additions being the “Renaissance” singer’s name. As one of 40 reported notable names entering the 2025 edition of the dictionary, Beyoncé’s name was drawn up by Larousse’s annual jury, which identifies popular words and people in the French community.
Other American stars, like LeBron James, will also be found in the pages of the 2025 Larousse dictionary. Carine Girac-Marinier, the head of dictionaries and encyclopedias at Larousse, says the new inclusions are designed to reflect the major moments and movements seen within the past year, per LePoint.
Alongside the addition of terms like “fast-fashion” and “empouvoirement” (the French translation of the English term “empowerment”), Beyoncé’s listing in the dictionary as an “American singer of R&B and pop” also highlights her Louisiana Creole heritage. As seen on the “Cowboy Carter” limited-edition cover art, Beyoncé’s name, derived from her mother’s maiden name, was originally spelled “Beyincé.” According to Tina Knowles, the hospital misspelled her family name on her own birth certificate and never corrected the error.
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“It’s interesting — and it shows you the times — because we asked my mother when I was grown. I was like, ‘Why is my brother’s name spelled B-E-Y-I-N-C-E? You know, it’s all these different spellings.’ And my mom’s reply to me was like, ‘That’s what they put on your birth certificate,'” Knowles said on an episode of the “In My Heart with Heather Thomson” podcast.
She added: “So I said, ‘Well, why didn’t you argue and make them correct it?’ And she said, ‘I did one time, the first time; and I was told ‘Be happy that you’re getting a birth certificate’ because, at one time, Black people didn’t get birth certificates.”
Carrying her mother’s maiden name, Beyoncé has proudly highlighted her family’s legacy and heritage in her music and business ventures like House of Deréon, named for her grandmother, Agnèz Deréon, and her recently launched haircare line Cécred, which she leads alongside her mother.
“It was important that we borrowed some of our past and brought it into the future,” Beyoncé said, as previously reported by theGrio. “Cécred is a legacy project for me, one that’s probably the most rooted in my ancestry. It’s so far beyond business […] it’s our family story.”
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