The French word 'paléontologie' was introduced in 1822.
Notes on verification
Confirmed by multiple independent sources including Merriam-Webster, Wiktionary, and peer-reviewed Palaeo-electronica; minor scholarly nuance about an earlier 1818 usage exists but is not a substantive contradiction.
Sources
- Paleontology (en.wikipedia.org)
- https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paleontology (merriam-webster.com)
- https://palaeo-electronica.org/content/2012-issue-1-articles-2/79-palaeontology-in-france (palaeo-electronica.org)
- https://clubgeologiqueidf.fr/paleontologie/ (clubgeologiqueidf.fr)