Fontenelle

noun

Bernard le Bovier de (bɛrnar lə bɔvje də). 1657–1757, French philosopher. His writings include Digressions sur les anciens et les modernes (1688) and Éléments de la géométrie de l'infini (1727)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Examples from the Web for fontenelle

Historical Examples of fontenelle

Fontenelle, the French poet and philosopher, saw a woman in the moon's changes.
Moon Lore
Timothy Harley
I did not know it was in Goldsmith; but the real author of it was Fontenelle.
Notes and Queries, Number 73, March 22, 1851
Various
Sainte-Beuve calls her the Fontenelle of women, but it was Fontenelle tempered with a heart.
The Women of the French Salons
Amelia Gere Mason
Prominent among her friends were Bolingbroke and Fontenelle.
The Women of the French Salons
Amelia Gere Mason
In her equanimity and her love of repose she was a worthy disciple of Fontenelle.
The Women of the French Salons
Amelia Gere Mason