French: difference between revisions

See also: french

English

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Etymology

Inherited from Middle English Frenche, Frensch, Frensc, Frenshe, Frenk, Franche, from Old English Frenċisċ (“Frankish, French”), from Proto-West Germanic *Frankisk (“Frankish”), equivalent to Frank +‎ -ish (compare Frankish). Cognate with Middle Low German vranksch, frenkisch, vrenkesch, vrenksch (“Frankish, French”), Middle High German vrenkisch, vrensch ("Frankish, Franconian; > German fränkisch (“Frankish, Franconian”)), Danish fransk (“French”), Swedish fransk, fransysk (“French”), Icelandic franska (“French”).

Doublet of Frankish.

In reference to vulgar language, from expressions such as pardon my French in the early 19th century, originally in reference to actual (but often mildly impolite) French expressions by the upper class, subsequently adopted ironically by the lower class for English cursewords under the charitable conceit that the listener would not be familiar with them.

In reference to vermouth, a shortened form of French vermouth, distinguished as usually being drier than Italian vermouth.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) enPR: frĕnch, IPA^(key): /fɹɛnt͡ʃ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛntʃ

Proper noun

French (countable and uncountable, plural Frenches)

2. (chiefly uncountable) The language of France, shared by the neighboring countries Belgium, Monaco, and Switzerland and by former French colonies around the world.

   She speaks French.

   • c. 1390, Robert Grosseteste, translating Chateau d'Amour as The Castle of Love, ll. 25 ff.:

     Ne mowe we alle Latin wite...
     Ne French...

   • 1533, Thomas More, The Debellacyon of Salem & Bizance, fol. 96:

     I... wolde also be bolde in such french as is peculiare to the lawys of this realme, to leue it wyth them in wrytynge to.

   • 1720, Daniel Defoe, Memoirs of a Cavalier, page 13:

     I could speak but little French.

   • 1991, Michael Clyne, Pluricentric Languages: Differing Norms in Different Nations, Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 169:

     Thus, complementary to the French of France, the Quebecois (and in a lesser degree the Frenches of Africa, Swiss French, etc.) would constitute languages in their own right.

   • 1997, Albert Valdman, French and Creole in Louisiana, page 29:

     Almost three quarters of the population 65 and older reported speaking French.

   • 2004, Jack Flam, Matisse and Picasso: The Story of Their Rivalry and Friendship, page 18:

     Although he would spend the rest of his life in France, Picasso never mastered the language, and during those early years he was especially self-conscious about how bad his French was.

   • 2013, Jocelyn Wogan-Browne, Language and Culture in Medieval Britain: The French of England, C.1100-c.1500, Boydell & Brewer Ltd, →ISBN, page 361:

     The Frenches of England remain as working languages in the different registers of various occupational communities and for particular social rituals. Beyond the fifteenth century, French is a much less substantial presence in England, though […]

3. (uncountable) The ability of a person to communicate in French.

   My French is a little rusty.

   • 1742 April 4, R. West, letter to Thomas Gray:

     [Racine's] language is the language of the times, and that of the purest sort; so that his French is reckoned a standard.

4. (uncountable) French language and literature as an object of study.

   I'm taking French next semester.

5. (uncountable, euphemistic, now often ironic) Vulgar language.

   Pardon my French.

   • 1845, Edward Jerningham Wakefield, Adventure in New Zealand, volume I, page 327:

     The enraged headsman spares no 'bad French' in explaining his motives.

   • 1986, John Hughes, Ferris Bueller's Day Off':

     Cameron: Pardon my French, but you're an asshole!

   • 2005 May 29, New York Times Book Review, page 12:

     The book... is a welcome change from theory-infected academic discourse, pardon my French.

6. (countable) A surname.

   Dawn French.

Derived terms

• Anglo-French
• excuse my French
• French and English
• French-esque
• French telephone
• Middle French
• Missouri French
• Modern French
• Norman French
• Old French
• pardon my French

 

• (surname): Frenchburg

Descendants

• ⇒ American Sign Language: 9@InsideNeckhigh-PalmDown 9@SideNeckhigh-PalmUp
• → Choctaw: Filanchi
• → Punjabi: ਫ਼੍ਰੈਂਚ (fraiñc)
• → Zulu: isiFulentshi

Translations

principal language of France and other related countries

• Afrikaans: Frans (af)
• Akan: Frɛnkye
• Albanian: gjuha frënge f, gjuha franceze f, frëngjisht (sq), frëngjishte (sq)
• American Sign Language: F@NearForehead-HandPalmDown F@NearForehead-HandPalmUp HorizSmallTwist
• Amharic: ፈረንሳይኛ (färänsayña)
• Antillean Creole: fransè
• Arabic: الفَرَنْسِيَّة f (al-faransiyya), اللُّغَة الفَرَنْسِيَّة f (al-luḡa l-faransiyya), فَرَنْسِيّ (ar) m (faransiyy) (colloquial), الفَرَنْسَاوِيَّة f (al-faransāwiyya), اللُّغَة الفَرَنْسَاوِيَّة f (al-luḡa l-faransāwiyya), فَرَنْسَاوِيّ m (faransāwiyy) (colloquial)

  Egyptian Arabic: فرنساوي m (faransāwi)

  Hijazi Arabic: فرنسي (faransi)

  Moroccan Arabic: فرنساوية (fransāwiyya)

  South Levantine Arabic: فرنساوي m (fransāwi), فرنسي m (fransi)

• Aragonese: franzés (an)
• Aramaic:

  Hebrew: פרנסיא m (pransāya’)

  Syriac: ܦܪܢܣܝܐ m (pransāya’)

• Armenian: ֆրանսերեն (hy) (franseren)
• Assamese: ফৰাচী ভাষা (phorasi bhaxa)
• Asturian: francés (ast)
• Azerbaijani: Fransız dili
• Bambara: Faransekan
• Banjarese: bahasa Parancis
• Basque: frantses (eu)
• Bavarian: Franzesisch
• Belarusian: францу́зская мо́ва f (francúzskaja móva)
• Bengali: ফরাসি ভাষা (bn) (phoraśi bhaśa)
• Bikol Central: Pranses
• Breton: galleg (br) m
• Bulgarian: фре́нски ези́к m (frénski ezík), фре́нски (bg) m (frénski)
• Burmese: ပြင်သစ်စကား (prangsacca.ka:)
• Catalan: francès (ca) m

  Valencian: francés (ca) m

• Cebuano: Prinanses
• Cherokee: ᎦᎸᏥ (chr) (galvtsi)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 法文 (faat³ man^4-2)

  Dungan: файү (fayü)

  Eastern Min: 法語／法语 (Huák-ngṳ̄)

  Hakka: 法文 (Fap-vùn)

  Hokkien: 法語／法语 (Hoat-gí)

  Mandarin: 法語／法语 (zh) (fǎyǔ) (spoken); 法文 (zh) (fǎwén) (written)

• Cornish: Frynkek m, Frenkek m (Revived Late Cornish)
• Corsican: francese (co)
• Cree: ᐅᐱᔥᑎᑯᔮᐅᐊᔨᒧᐎᓐ (opishtikoyaaoayimowin)
• Czech: francouzština (cs) f, francouzský jazyk m
• Danish: fransk (da) n
• Dhivehi: ފަރަންސޭސި (dv) (faran̊sēsi)
• Dutch: Frans (nl) n
• East Futuna: fakafalani
• Esperanto: franca (eo), franca lingvo
• Estonian: prantsuse, prantsuse keel
• Ewe: Fransegbe n
• Farefare: Fãrenne, Fãrene
• Faroese: franskt (fo) n
• Finnish: ranska (fi), ranskan kieli
• Franco-Provençal: Francês
• French: français (fr) m, langue française f

  Middle French: françoys m

  Old French: françois m

• Friulian: francês
• Galician: francés (gl) m
• Gallo: fraunceiz m
• Georgian: ფრანგული (ka) (pranguli), ფრანგული ენა (pranguli ena)
• German: Französisch (de) n
• Greek: γαλλικά (el) n pl (galliká)
• Greenlandic: franskisut
• Gujarati: ફ્રાન્સીસી (gu) f (phrānsīsī)
• Haitian Creole: lang franse, fransè
• Hausa: Faransanci (ha), Turanci (ha) (Niger)
• Hawaiian: ʻōlelo Palani
• Hebrew: צרפתית (he) f (tsarfatít)
• Hindi: फ़्राँसीसी (hi) f (frā̃sīsī), फ़्रांसीसी (hi) f (frānsīsī), फ़्रान्सीसी (hi) f (frānsīsī), फ्रांसीसी (hi) (phrānsīsī), फ्रेंच (hi) f (phrẽc)
• Hungarian: francia (hu)
• Hunsrik: Franzeesisch n
• Icelandic: franska (is) f
• Ido: Franciana (io)
• Ilocano: Frances
• Indonesian: bahasa Perancis
• Interlingua: francese (ia)
• Inuktitut: ᐅᐃᕖᑎᑐᑦ (oifiititot), ᐅᐃᕖᑎᑐᓪᓗ (oifiititollo)
• Irish: Fraincis f
• Italian: francese (it) m
• Japanese: フランス語 (ja) (フランスご, furansugo), 仏語 (ja) (ふつご, futsugo)
• Javanese: basa Prancis
• Kannada: ಫ್ರೆಂಚ್ (kn) (phreñc)
• Khmer: ភាសាបារាំង (km) (pīăsā baarung)
• Komi-Zyrian: Франция кыв (Francija kyv)
• Kongo: Kifalanse
• Korean: 프랑스어(語) (ko) (peurangseueo), 불어(佛語) (ko) (bureo)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: فەرەنساوی (ferensawî)

  Northern Kurdish: zimanê fransî (ku), frensî (ku), ferensayî (ku)

• Kyrgyz: франсузча (fransuzca)
• Ladin: franzëus m
• Ladino: lingua Fransesa f
• Lao: ພາສາຝະລັ່ງ (lo) (phā sā fa lang)
• Latin: lingua Francogallica f (lingua francogallica f)
• Latvian: franču valoda (lv)
• Ligurian: lengua françèise f
• Limburgish: Frans (li)
• Lingala: Falansé
• Lithuanian: prancūzų kalba (lt)
• Lombard: françes
• Louisiana Creole: françé m, fransé m
• Low German:

  Dutch Low Saxon: Frans

  German Low German: Franzöösch (nds) n

• Luxembourgish: Franséisch (lb) n
• Macedonian: француски јазик m (francuski jazik)
• Malay: bahasa Perancis, Perancis (ms)
• Malayalam: ഫ്രഞ്ച് ഭാഷ (phrañcŭ bhāṣa)
• Maltese: il-Franċiż (mt)
• Manx: Frangish m
• Maori: reo Wīwī
• Mapudungun: fransia dungun
• Marathi: फ्रेंच (phreñca)
• Mingrelian: ფრანგული ნინა (pranguli nina)
• Moksha: Кранцонь кяль (Krancoń käľ)
• Mongolian: франц хэл (franc xel)
• Moore: fãrende
• Nahuatl: Francitlahtōlli
• Navajo: Dáághahii bizaad
• Neapolitan: franzese
• Nepali: फ्रान्सेली भाषा (phrānselī bhāṣā)
• Norman: Fraunceis
• Northern Sami: fránskkagiella
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: fransk (no) m

  Nynorsk: fransk (nn) m

• Occitan: francés (oc) m
• Ojibwe: wemitigoozhiimowin
• Old English: Frenċisċ n
• Old Norse: please add this translation if you can
• Ossetian: францусаг ӕвзаг (francusag ævzag)
• Ottawa: Wemtigoozhiimwin
• Pashto: فرانسوي (ps)
• Persian: فرانسوی (fa) (farânsavi)
• Picard: franchoés m, frinsé m
• Piedmontese: fransèis m
• Polish: (język) francuski (pl), francuszczyzna (pl) f
• Portuguese: francês (pt)
• Punjabi:

  Gurmukhi: ਫ਼੍ਰਾਂਸੀਸੀ (frānsīsī)

  Shahmukhi: فرانسیسی (frānsīsī)

• Rade: klei Prăng
• Romanian: franceză (ro), limba franceză f, franțuzește (ro) (lit. = in French)
• Romansch: lingua franzosa f
• Russian: францу́зский язы́к m (francúzskij jazýk), францу́зский (ru) m (francúzskij)
• Sami:

  Inari Sami: Ranskakielâ

• Scots: French
• Scottish Gaelic: Fraingis f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: француски m

  Roman: francuski (sh) m

• Sindhi: فِرانسِيسِي (firansīsī)
• Sinhalese: ප්‍රංශ (si) (praṁśa), ප්‍රංශ භාෂාව (praṁśa bhāṣāwa)
• Slovak: francúzština (sk) f, francúzsky jazyk m
• Slovene: francóščina (sl) f
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: francojska rěc, francojšćina f

  Upper Sorbian: francošćina (hsb)

• Sotho: Se-french
• Spanish: francés (es) m
• Sranan Tongo: Franstongo
• Swahili: Kifaransa
• Swazi: SíFulentji
• Swedish: franska (sv) c
• Sylheti: ꠚꠞꠣꠍꠤ ꠝꠣꠔ (fórasí mat)
• Tagalog: Pranses (tl)
• Tajik: фаронсавӣ (tg) (faronsavi), забони фаронсавӣ (zabon-i faronsavi)
• Tamil: ஃப்ரெஞ்ச் (freñc)
• Telugu: ఫ్రెంచి (te) (phreñci), ఫ్రెంచ్ (te) (phreñc)
• Thai: ภาษาฝรั่งเศส
• Tigrinya: ፈረንሳይኛ (färänsayña)
• Turkish: Fransızca (tr)
• Turkmen: fransuz dili
• Ukrainian: францу́зька мо́ва (uk) f (francúzʹka móva)
• Urdu: فرانسیسی زبان f (frā̃sīsī zabān), فرانسیسی (ur) f (frā̃sīsī)
• Uyghur: فرانسۇزچە (fransuzche)
• Uzbek: fransuzcha (uz)
• Venetian: fransexe (vec) m
• Veps: Francijan kel'
• Vietnamese: tiếng Pháp (vi), Pháp ngữ
• Volapük: Fransänapük (vo), Flentapük
• Wallisian: fakafalani
• Walloon: Francès (wa)
• Welsh: Ffrangeg (cy) f
• West Frisian: Frânsk (fy) n
• Yiddish: פֿראַנצייזיש (yi) n (frantseyzish)
• Yoruba: Faran̄sé
• Zazaki: (Southern Zazaki) Franski
• Zealandic: Frans
• Zulu: isiFulentshi (zu) class 7

vulgar language

• American Sign Language: F@NearForehead-HandPalmDown F@NearForehead-HandPalmUp HorizSmallTwist
• Dutch: schuttingtaal (nl) f
• Finnish: kielenkäyttö (fi)
• Greek: Γαλλικά n pl (Galliká)
• Portuguese: linguajar (pt) m

See also

• Wiktionary's coverage of French terms
• Appendix:French Swadesh list for a Swadesh list of basic vocabulary words in French

Noun

French (countable and uncountable, plural French or Frenches)

1. (chiefly collective and in the plural) The people of France; groups of French people.

   The Hundred Years' War was fought between the English and the French.

   Under the Fourth Republic, more and more French unionized.

   • 1579, Francesco Guicciardini as, translated by Geoffrey Fenton, The Historie of Guicciardin, page 378:

     […] to breake the necke of the wicked purposes & plots of the French […]

   • 1653, François Rabelais, translated by Thomas Urquhart, Works of Mr. Francis Rabelais, volume I, page 214:

     Such is the nature and complexion of the frenches, that they are worth nothing, but at the first push.

   • 2002, Jeremy Thornton, The French and Indian War, page 14:

     On the way, scouts reported that some French were heading toward them across the ice.

2. (uncountable, dated slang, sex) Synonym of oral sex, especially fellatio.
   • 1916, Henry Nathaniel Cary, The Slang of Venery and Its Analogues‎^[1], volume I, page 94:

     French--^[sic] to do the French--Cocksucking; and, inversely, to tongue a woman.

   • 1968, Bill Turner, Sex Trap, page 64:

     You can be whipped or caned... or you can have French for another pound.

   • 1986 May 6, Semper Floreat, page 34:

     Always use condoms with Greek (anal intercourse), straight sex (vaginal intercourse, fucking), French (oral sex).

   • 1996 October 13, Observer, page 25:

     ‘French’—still used by prostitutes as a term for oral sex.

4. (chiefly uncountable, dated slang) Ellipsis of French vermouth, a type of dry vermouth.
   • 1930, Ethel Mannin, Confessions & Impressions, page 177:

     Tearle replied that gin-and-French and virginian cigarettes would do for him.

   • 1967, Michael Francis Gilbert, The Dust & the Heat, page 14:

     He was drinking double gins with single Frenches in them.

Usage notes

The use of the plural form Frenches occurred in early modern English but is only seldom and exceptionally encountered in contemporary English. As with other collective demonyms, French is preceded by the definite article or some other determiner when referring to the people of France collectively.

Derived terms

• gin and French

 

Descendants

• → Zulu: iFulentshi

Translations

people of France, collectively

• Alabama: falànchi
• American Sign Language: F@NearForehead-HandPalmDown F@NearForehead-HandPalmUp HorizSmallTwist
• Arabic: فَرَنْسِيُّونَ pl (faransiyyūna)

  Moroccan Arabic: فرنساويين (fransāwiyīn), فرنسيس (fransīs)

• Aramaic:

  Hebrew: פרנסיא m (pransāyé)

  Syriac: ܦܪܢܣܝܐ m (pransāyé)

• Armenian: ֆրանսիացիները pl (fransiacʻinerə)
• Assamese: ফৰাচী (phorasi)
• Belarusian: францу́зы m pl (francúzy)
• Bengali: ফরাসি (bn) (phoraśi)
• Breton: Gallaoued (br) pl, Frañsizien (br) pl
• Bulgarian: французин m (francuzin)
• Catalan: els francesos (ca) m pl
• Cherokee: ᎠᏂᎦᎸᏥ (anigalvtsi)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 法國人／法国人 (zh) (Fǎguórén); 法蘭西人／法兰西人 (Fǎlánxīrén) (poetically); 法蘭西民族／法兰西民族 (Fǎlánxī mínzú)

• Czech: Francouzi m pl
• Danish: franskmænd m pl
• Dutch: Fransen (nl) pl, (pejorative) fransozen (nl) pl
• Esperanto: (la) francoj
• Estonian: prantslased pl
• Ewe: Fransetɔwo pl
• Finnish: ranskalaiset (fi) pl
• French: français (fr) m, Français (fr) pl

  Middle French: Françoys m pl

  Old French: François m pl

• Galician: franceses m pl
• Georgian: ფრანგები (prangebi)
• German: die Franzosen (de) m pl
• Greek: Γάλλοι (el) m pl (Gálloi)
• Gujarati: ફ્રાન્સીસી (gu) (phrānsīsī)
• Hebrew: צרפתים (tsarfatím)
• Hindi: फ़्राँसीसी (hi) (frā̃sīsī), फ्रांसीसी (hi) (phrānsīsī), फ्रेंच (hi) (phrẽc)
• Hungarian: franciák (hu) pl
• Icelandic: Frakkar (is) m pl
• Ido: Franciani pl
• Ilocano: Frances
• Indonesian: orang Perancis
• Interlingua: franceses pl
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} i francesi (it) m pl
• Japanese: フランス人 (ja) (フランスじん, furansujin), 仏人 (ja) (ふつじん, futsujin)
• Korean: 프랑스인 (ko) (peurangseu'in), 프랑스 사람 (peurangseu saram)
• Latin: Galli (la) m pl, Francogalli m pl
• Latvian: franči
• Lithuanian: prancūzai (lt)
• Malay: orang Perancis, Perancis (ms)
• Maltese: Franċiżi
• Marathi: फ्रेंच (phreñca)
• Middle Mongol: ᠪᠠᠷᠠᠨᠺᠺᠤᠳ pl (barankkud), ᠸᠢᠷᠠᠨᠺᠺᠤᠳ pl (wirankkud)
• Mongolian: францчууд pl (francčuud), франц үндэстэн (franc ündesten)
• Navajo: Dáághahii dineʼé
• Norwegian: franskmenn (no) m pl
• Ojibwe: Wemitigoozhi, Wemitigoozhiwag pl, Wemitigoozhikwe f, Wemitigoozhikweg f pl
• Old Tupi: Maíra
• Ottawa: Wemtigoozhii, Wemtigoozhiig pl, Wemtigoozhiikwe f, Wemtigoozhiikweg f pl
• Persian: فرانسویان (farânsaviyân)
• Polish: Francuzi m pers pl
• Portuguese: franceses (pt) m pl
• Punjabi: ਫ਼੍ਰਾਂਸੀਸੀ (frānsīsī)
• Romanian: francezi (ro) m pl
• Russian: францу́зы (ru) m pl (francúzy)
• Scottish Gaelic: na Frangaich m pl
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: французи m pl

  Roman: francuzi (sh) m pl

• Slovene: Francózi m pl, Francózinje f pl
• Spanish: franceses (es) m pl
• Swedish: fransmän (sv), fransoser (sv)
• Tagalog: Pranses (tl)
• Telugu: పరాసులు (parāsulu)
• Thai: ชาวฝรั่งเศส
• Turkish: Fransızlar pl
• Ukrainian: францу́зи m pl (francúzy)
• Urdu: فرانسیسی (ur) (frā̃sīsī)
• Venetian: fransexe (vec) m or f
• Vietnamese: người Pháp
• West Frisian: (de) Frânsen pl

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Bashkir: ^{(please verify)} Франк теле (Frank tele)
• Bavarian: ^{(please verify)} französische Sproch
• Chuvash: ^{(please verify)} франци чӗлхи (frantsi č̬ĕlh̬i)
• Corsican: ^{(please verify)} lingua francese
• Crimean Tatar: ^{(please verify)} Frenk tili
• Emiliano-Romagnolo: Francês
• Extremaduran: ^{(please verify)} luenga francesa
• Friulian: ^{(please verify)} lenghe francese
• Ido: ^{(please verify)} Franciana linguo
• Low German: ^{(please verify)} franzöösche Spraak
• Malagasy: ^{(please verify)} fiteny frantsay
• Norwegian Nynorsk: ^{(please verify)} fransk språk
• Quechua: ^{(please verify)} phransya simi
• Samogitian: ^{(please verify)} prancūzu kalba
• Sardinian: ^{(please verify)} limba frantzesa
• Sicilian: ^{(please verify)} lingua francisa
• Slovak: ^{(please verify)} francúzština (sk)
• Tahitian: ^{(please verify)} reo farāni
• Tamil: ^{(please verify)} பிரெஞ்சு மொழி (pireñcu moḻi)
• Thai: ^{(please verify)} ชาวฝรั่งเศส (th)
• Tok Pisin: ^{(please verify)} tok Pranis
• Turkmen: ^{(please verify)} Fransuz dili
• Uzbek: ^{(please verify)} Fransuz tili

Adjective

French (comparative more French, superlative most French)

The French national football team.

1. Of or relating to France.

   the French border with Italy

   • 2015 May 3, “Standardized Testing”, in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 2, episode 12, John Oliver (actor), via HBO:

     That must have hurt, especially because you knew the French children weren’t even trying. “Uh, go on, play weez your seellee nambeurs. Zey tell you nosseeng of ze true naytcheur of ze soula. I’ll weepa for you.”

2. Of or relating to the people or culture of France.

   Hypernym: European

   French customs

3. Of or relating to the French language.

   Hypernym: Indo-European

   French verbs

4. (slang, sexuality) Of or related to oral sex, especially fellatio.

   Coordinate term: straight

   French active ― person who is fellated

   French girl ― a prostitute who offers fellatio

   • 1946, Milton “Mezz” Mezzrow, Bernard Wolfe, “Not too Far Tangent”, in Really the Blues, New York, N.Y.: Random House, book 1 (1899–1923: A Nothin’ but a Child), page 23:

     She was a tall redhead, with a shape that would make you jump for joy and a reputation as the best French girl in the place.

5. (informal, often euphemistic) Used to form names or references to venereal diseases.

   French disease ― a venereal disease

   French crown ― hair loss from venereal disease

   French pox ― syphillis

6. Used to form names or references to an unconventional or fancy style.

   French curve ― drafting template having edges of various curvatures

   French cut ― sliced lengthwise in thin strips

   French fries ― french cut potato fries

   French kiss ― kissing with the tongue

   French manicure ― painting white under the finger nails

   French window or French door ― double wooden windows or doors crafted with panes of glass

   French refrigerator ― continuous refrigerator space on top accessed by two doors, with a freezer drawer below

   French polish ― type of glossy varnish for wood

   French inhale ― act of expelling cigarette smoke from the mouth and simultaneously inhaling it through the nose

   French exit or French leave ― hasty exit made without saying farewells to anybody

   French toast ― Food prepared by dipping bread into egg batter and frying

Synonyms

• Gallian, Gallic, Gaulish

Derived terms

• First French Empire
• Free French
• French Alps
• French and Iroquois Wars
• French augmented sixth chord
• French bean, french bean
• French bed
• French berry
• French berry (Rhamnus saxatilis)
• French bishop
• French braid
• French bread
• French Broad
• French Bulldog
• French Canada
• French Canadian, French-Canadian
• French canon
• French casement
• French Cay
• French chalk
• French cleat
• French Community
• French Congo
• French corner
• French cowslip (Primula auricula)
• French cricket
• French cuff
• French curl
• French curve
• French-cut
• French defence, French defense, French Defence
• French dip
• French disease
• French donut
• French door
• French drain
• French dressing, french dressing
• French drop
• French Equatorial Africa
• French exit
• French fact
• French fake
• French fits
• French franc
• French fries
• french fries
• French grey
• French grip
• French Guiana
• French Guianese
• French Guinea
• French Guyana
• French harp
• French honeysuckle (Hedysarum coronarium)
• French horn
• French hornist
• Frenchie
• Frenchification
• Frenchify
• French India
• French Indochina
• French inhale
• French Island
• French kiss
• French knickers
• French knot
• French lavender (Lavandula stoechas)
• French leave
• French letter
• French Lick
• French lilac (Syringa vulgaris & Galega officinalis)
• French loaf
• French lock
• French Louisiana
• French maid
• Frenchman
• Frenchman
• French Morocco
• French mulberry (Callicarpa americana)
• French mullet (Albula vulpes)
• French mustard
• French New Wave
• French new wave
• French onion soup
• French pancake
• French paradox
• French parfait
• French partridge (Alectoris rufa)
• French pedicure
• French pie
• French plait
• French polish
• French polishing
• French Polynesia
• French Polynesian
• French pox
• French press
• French purple
• French Quarter
• French red
• French Republic
• French Republican Calendar
• French Revolution
• French Revolutionary Calendar
• French rice
• French River
• French Riviera
• French roast
• French roll
• French roof
• French rose (Rosa gallica)
• French ruff
• French rye (Arrhenatherum elatius)
• French sash
• French seam
• French Sign Language
• French skipping
• French sole (Microstomus kitt)
• French Somaliland
• French sorrel (Rumex scutatus)
• French Southern and Antarctic Lands
• French spacing
• French Spaniel
• French spinach (Atriplex hortensis)
• French stick
• French-style
• French Sudan
• French tickler
• French toast, french toast
• French-toasty
• French Togoland
• Frenchtown
• French trumpet
• French tub
• French turban
• French Turn
• French twist
• French Union
• French vanilla
• French West Africa
• French willow ( Salix triandra)
• French window, french window
• French wire
• Frenchwoman
• Frenchy
• Frenchy
• Missouri French
• take French leave, take a French leave (obsolete)
• Vichy French

 

Descendants

• → Choctaw: Filanchi
• → Tamil: பிரஞ்சு (pirañcu)

Translations

of or relating to France

• Afrikaans: Frans (af)
• Albanian: francez (sq)
• Arabic: فَرَنْسِِِيّ (ar) (faransiiiyy), فَرَنْسَاوِيّ (faransāwiyy)

  Egyptian Arabic: فرنساوي (faransāwi)

  South Levantine Arabic: فرنساوي m (fransāwi), فرنسي m (fransi)

• Archi: паранг (parang)
• Armenian: ֆրանսիական (hy) (fransiakan)
• Azerbaijani: fransız (az)
• Bashkir: француз (frantsuz)
• Basque: frantziar (eu), frantses (eu)
• Belarusian: францу́зскі (francúzski), францу́скі (francúski) (Taraškievica)
• Bengali: ফরাসি (bn) (phoraśi)
• Bulgarian: фре́нски (bg) (frénski)
• Burmese: ပြင်သစ် (prangsac)
• Carpathian Rusyn: францу́зькый (francúzʹkŷj)
• Catalan: francès (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 法國的／法国的 (zh) (Fǎguó de)

• Czech: francouzský (cs)
• Danish: fransk (da)
• Dutch: Frans (nl)
• Esperanto: franca (eo)
• Estonian: prantsuse
• Faroese: franskur
• Finnish: ranskalainen (fi), Ranskan (fi), ranskan- (fi)
• French: français (fr)
• Galician: francés (gl)
• Georgian: ფრანგული (ka) (pranguli)
• German: französisch (de)
• Greek: γαλλικός (el) m (gallikós)
• Hawaiian: Palani
• Hebrew: צָרְפָתִי (he) (tsar'fatí)
• Hindi: फ़्रान्सीसी (hi) (frānsīsī), फ्रांसीसी (hi) (phrānsīsī), फ्रेंच (hi) (phrẽc)
• Hungarian: francia (hu)
• Icelandic: franskur (is)
• Ido: Franciana (io)
• Ingrian: frantsilain
• Interlingua: francese (ia)
• Italian: francese (it)
• Japanese: フランスの (ja) (Furansu no), 仏 (ja) (ふつ, futsu)
• Kazakh: француз (fransuz)
• Khmer: បារាំង (km) (baarang)
• Korean: 프랑스의 (ko) (peurangseuui)
• Kyrgyz: француз (ky) (frantsuz), франсуз (fransuz)
• Lao: ຝະລັ່ງ (lo) (fa lang), ຝະຣັ່ງ (fa rang)
• Latin: francogallicus, francanus
• Latvian: franču
• Lithuanian: prancūzų (lt), prancūziškas
• Luxembourgish: please add this translation if you can
• Macedonian: француски (francuski)
• Malay: Perancis (ms)
• Maori: Wīwī (mi)
• Marathi: फ्रेंच (phreñca)
• Mongolian: франц (franc)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: fransk (no)

  Nynorsk: fransk (nn)

• Occitan: francés (oc)
• Old Church Slavonic:

  Cyrillic: франкїискъ (frankiiskŭ)

• Old English: Frenċisċ
• Pashto: فرانسوي (ps) (farānsawí)
• Persian: فرانسوی (fa) (farânsavi)
• Polish: francuski (pl)
• Portuguese: francês (pt)
• Punjabi: ਫ਼੍ਰਾਂਸੀਸੀ (frānsīsī)
• Romanian: francez (ro)
• Russian: францу́зский (ru) (francúzskij)
• Scottish Gaelic: Frangach
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: фра̀нцӯскӣ

  Roman: fràncūskī (sh)

• Skolt Sami: fransuška
• Slovak: francúzsky (sk)
• Slovene: francóski (sl)
• Spanish: francés (es)
• Swedish: fransk (sv)
• Tagalog: Pranses (tl)
• Tajik: фаронсавӣ (tg) (faronsavi)
• Tatar: француз (frantsuz)
• Telugu: ఫ్రెంచి (te) (phreñci), ఫ్రెంచ్ (te) (phreñc)
• Thai: ฝรั่งเศส (th) (fà-ràng-sèet)
• Turkish: Fransız (tr)
• Turkmen: fransuz
• Ukrainian: францу́зький (uk) (francúzʹkyj)
• Urdu: فرانسیسی (ur) (frānsīsī)
• Uyghur: فرانسۇز (fransuz)
• Uzbek: fransuz (uz)
• Venetian: fransexe (vec)
• Vietnamese: Pháp (vi)
• Volapük: Fransänik (vo)
• Welsh: Ffrengig (cy)
• West Frisian: Frânsk (fy)
• Yiddish: פֿראַנצייזיש (yi) (frantseyzish)
• Zhuang: Fazgoz

of or relating to the French people

• Afrikaans: Frans (af)
• Arabic: فَرَنْسِيّ (ar) (faransiyy), فَرَنْسَاوِيّ (faransāwiyy)

  Egyptian Arabic: فرنساوي (faransāwi)

  South Levantine Arabic: فرنساوي m (fransāwi), فرنسي m (fransi)

• Armenian: ֆրանսիական (hy) (fransiakan)
• Bulgarian: френски (bg) (frenski)
• Catalan: francès (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 法國人的／法国人的 (zh) (gǎguórén de)

• Czech: francouzský (cs)
• Danish: fransk (da)
• Dutch: Frans (nl)
• Esperanto: franca (eo)
• Faroese: franskur
• Finnish: ranskalainen (fi)
• French: français (fr)
• Galician: francés (gl) m
• Georgian: ფრანგული (ka) (pranguli)
• German: französisch (de)
• Greek: γαλλικός (el) m (gallikós)
• Hawaiian: Palani
• Hebrew: צרפתי (he) (tsarfati)
• Hindi: फ्रांसीसी (hi) (phrānsīsī), फ्रेंच (hi) (phrẽc)
• Hungarian: francia (hu)
• Icelandic: franskur (is)
• Ido: Franciana (io)
• Ingrian: frantsilain
• Interlingua: francese (ia)
• Italian: francese (it)
• Japanese: フランス人の (ja) (furansujin no)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: frensizî

• Latvian: franču
• Lithuanian: prancūzų (lt), prancūziškas
• Malay: orang Perancis, Perancis (ms)
• Marathi: फ्रेंच (phreñca)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: fransk (no)

  Nynorsk: fransk (nn)

• Old English: Frenċisċ
• Persian: فرانسوی (fa) (farânsavi)
• Polish: francuski (pl)
• Portuguese: francês (pt)
• Romanian: francez (ro)
• Russian: францу́зский (ru) (francúzskij)
• Scottish Gaelic: Frangach
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: фра̀нцӯскӣ

  Roman: fràncūskī (sh)

• Slovak: francúzsky (sk)
• Slovene: francóski (sl)
• Spanish: francés (es)
• Swedish: fransk (sv)
• Turkish: Fransız (tr)
• Ukrainian: францу́зький (uk) (francúzʹkyj)
• Urdu: فرانسیسی (ur) (frā̃sīsī)
• Venetian: fransexe (vec)
• Vietnamese: (người) Pháp
• Volapük: (male and/or female) Fransänanik, (male), hi-Fransänanik, (female) ji-Fransänanik
• Welsh: Ffrengig (cy), Ffrangaidd, Ffrengaidd, Ffrancaidd
• West Frisian: Frânsk (fy)
• Yiddish: פֿראַנצייזיש (yi) (frantseyzish)

of or relating to the French language

• Afrikaans: Frans (af)
• Arabic: فَرَنْسِيّ (ar) (faransiyy), فَرَنْسَاوِيّ (faransāwiyy)

  Egyptian Arabic: فرنساوي (faransaauuii)

  South Levantine Arabic: فرنساوي m (fransāwi), فرنسي m (fransi)

• Armenian: ֆրանսերեն (hy) (franseren)
• Catalan: francès (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 法語的／法语的 (zh) (fǎyǔ de)

• Czech: francouzský (cs)
• Danish: fransk (da)
• Dutch: Frans (nl)
• Esperanto: franca (eo), franclingva
• Faroese: franskur
• Finnish: ranskankielinen (fi), ranskan (fi)
• French: français (fr)
• Galician: francés (gl) m
• Georgian: ფრანგული (ka) (pranguli)
• German: französisch (de)
• Greek: γαλλικός (el) m (gallikós)
• Hawaiian: Palani
• Hebrew: צרפתי (he) (tsarfati)
• Hindi: फ्रांसीसी (hi) (phrānsīsī), फ्रेंच (hi) (phrẽc)
• Hungarian: francia (hu)
• Icelandic: franskur (is)
• Ido: Franciana (io)
• Interlingua: francese (ia)
• Italian: francese (it)
• Japanese: フランス語の (ja) (furansugo no)
• Kyrgyz: французча (ky) (frantsuzca), франсузча (fransuzca)
• Latvian: franču
• Lithuanian: prancūzų (lt)
• Malay: bahasa Perancis, Perancis (ms)
• Marathi: फ्रेंच (phreñca)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: fransk (no)

  Nynorsk: fransk (nn)

• Old English: Frenċisċ
• Persian: فرانسوی (fa) (farânsavi)
• Polish: francuski (pl)
• Portuguese: francês (pt)
• Romanian: francez (ro)
• Russian: францу́зский (ru) (francúzskij)
• Scottish Gaelic: Frangach
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: фра̀нцӯскӣ

  Roman: fràncūskī (sh)

• Slovak: francúzsky (sk)
• Slovene: francóski (sl)
• Spanish: francés (es)
• Swedish: fransk (sv), franskspråkig (sv)
• Tagalog: Pranses (tl)
• Turkish: Fransızca (tr)
• Urdu: فرانسیسی (ur) (frā̃sīsī)
• Venetian: fransexe (vec)
• Vietnamese: (tiếng) Pháp, Pháp ngữ
• Volapük: Fransänapükik
• Wallisian: fakafalani
• Welsh: Ffrangeg (cy), Ffrangaidd, Ffrengaidd, Ffrancaidd
• West Frisian: Frânsk (fy)
• Yiddish: פֿראַנצייזיש (yi) (frantseyzish)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Breton: ^{(please verify)} gall (br)
• Hebrew: ^{(please verify)} צרפתי (he) (tsorfati)
• Indonesian: ^{(please verify)} Perancis (id)
• Latin: ^{(please verify)} Gallicus (la)
• Maltese: ^{(please verify)} Franċiż (mt)
• Marathi: ^{(please verify)} फ्रान्सीय (phrānsīy)
• Neapolitan: ^{(please verify)} franzese

Verb

French (third-person singular simple present Frenches, present participle Frenching, simple past and past participle Frenched)

1. Alternative letter-case form of french
   • 1995, Jack Womack, Random Acts of Senseless Violence, page 87:

     Even before I thought about what I was doing we Frenched and kissed with tongues.

Alternative forms

• french

Derived terms

• Frenched

Translations

to french — see french

See also

• Franco-

References

• “French, adj. & n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 2009.
• "Where did the term 'Pardon my French' come from...", /r/AskHistorians, 2018.

Further reading

• ISO 639-1 code fr, ISO 639-3 code fra (SIL)
• Ethnologue entry for French, fra ⁠