« Nous, lexicographes, nous avons donc toujours tort » ? Traitement de l’euphémisme dans le Petit Robert

Euphemisms are something of a lexicographical challenge: the euphemistic meaning of a word depends on its context and may fade over time. Nevertheless, euphemisms are marked as such in the vast majority of dictionaries. This article provides an insight into the way they tackle the difficulties. It starts by presenting the main motives for using euphemisms: veneration and fear, shame and tact – of which political correctness is the latest upshot – as well as expedience and self-interest. Depending on the motive, different semantic areas are dominant. The analysis of the terms identified as euphemisms in Petit Robert shows how these fields are represented on a lexicographical level, and provides an insight into the heterogeneity of lexicographical judgements.