The New International Encyclopædia/Ménage, Gilles de

MÉNAGE, mā̇′näzh′, Gilles de (Ægidius Menagius) (1613-92). A French lexicographer and linguist, born at Angers. Disliking the profession of an advocate, he renounced it, entered the Church, and fixed his residence in the Convent of Notre Dame. His Dictionnaire etymologique, ou Origines de la langue française (Paris, 1650-94; best ed. by Jault. 2 vols., Paris, 1750), and his Origini della lingua italiana (1669) are erudite and valuable works.