French

French

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 West Flemish Fransch (“French”), Dutch Frans (“French”), Middle Low German vranksch, frenkisch, vrenkesch, vrenksch (“Frankish, French”), Middle High German frenkisch, frensch ("Frankish, French"; > German fränkisch (“Franconian”)), Danish fransk (“French”), Swedish fransk, fransysk (“French”), Icelandic franska (“French”).

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/, /fɹɛnʃ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛntʃ

Proper noun

French (countable and uncountable, plural Frenches)

1. (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, p. 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 […]

2. (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.

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

   I'm taking French next semester.

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

   Pardon my French.

   • 1845, Edward Jerningham Wakefield, Adventure in New Zealand, Vol. I, p. 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, p. 12:

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

5. (countable) A surname.

   Dawn French.

Derived terms

• Anglo-French
• excuse my French
• Middle 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) n 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) 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) 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 man4-2) Dungan: файү (fayü) Hakka: 法文 (Fap-vùn) Mandarin: 法語／法语 (zh) (fǎyǔ) (spoken); 法文 (zh) (fǎwén) (written) Min Dong: 法語 (Huák-ngṳ̄) Min Nan: 法語 (Hoat-gí) 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 (phreñc) Hungarian: francia (hu) Hunsrik: Franzeesisch n Icelandic: franska (is) f Ido: Franciana (io) Ilocano: Frances Indonesian: bahasa Perancis Interlingua: francese (ia) Inuktitut: ᐅᐃᕖᑎᑐᑦ (oifiititot) 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 (ku) (ferensawî) Northern Kurdish: zimanê fransî (ku), frensî (ku), ferensayî (ku) Kyrgyz: франсузча (fransuzça) Ladin: franzëus m Ladino: lingua Fransesa f Lao: ພາສາຝະລັ່ງ (lo) (phā sā fa lang) Latin: lingua Francogallica f, francogallica f, francica f, francoromana f, gallica f Latvian: franču valoda Ligurian: lengua françèise f Limburgish: Frans (li) Lingala: Falansé Lithuanian: prancūzų kalba (lt) Lombard: françes 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 (frañcŭ bhāṣa) Maltese: il-Franċiż (mt) Manx: Frangish m Maori: reo Wīwī Mapudungun: fransia dungun Marathi: फ्रान्सीय (phrānsīy) Moksha: Кранцонь кяль (Kranconʹ kjalʹ) 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 Silesian: francusko godka f 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) (faronsavī), забони фаронсавӣ (zaboni faronsavī) 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, Geoffrey Fenton, translating Francesco Guicciardini as The Historie of Guicciardin, p. 378:

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

   • 1653, Thomas Urquhart, translating François Rabelais as Works of Mr. Francis Rabelais, Vol. I, p. 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, Vol. I, p. 94:

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

   • 1968, Bill Turner, Sex Trap, p. 64:

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

   • 1986 May 6, Semper Floreat, p. 34:

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

   • 1996 October 13, Observer, p. 25:

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

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

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

   • 1967, Michael Francis Gilbert, The Dust & the Heat, p. 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 seldomly 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

• French and Iroquois Wars
• Frenchie
• Frenchy
• 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 (fransiacʿinerə) Assamese: ফৰাচী (phorasi) Belarusian: францу́зы m pl (francúzy) 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) (phreñc) 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: फ्रान्सीय (phrānsīy) 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 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) 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 Bengali: (please verify) ফরাসি ভাষা (bn) (phôrasi bhaṣa) 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 Silesian: (please verify) francusko godka 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 (Fransuz tili) }}

Adjective

French (comparative more French, superlative most French)

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, 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.

   French customs

3. Of or relating to the French language.

   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, Mezz Mezzrow; Bernard Wolfe, Really the Blues, New York: Random House, 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

Synonyms

• Gallian, Gallic, Gaulish

Derived terms

• Free French
• French augmented sixth chord
• french bean
• French bean
• French berry (Rhamnus saxatilis)
• French braid
• French bread
• French Bulldog
• French Canada
• French Canadian
• French-Canadian
• French canon
• French casement
• French chalk
• French Congo
• French corner
• French cowslip (Primula auricula)
• French cricket
• French cuff
• French curl
• French curve
• French-cut
• French defence
• French Defence
• French defense
• 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
• 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 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 onion soup
• French pancake
• French paradox
• French parfait
• French partridge
• French pedicure
• French pie
• French plait
• French polish
• 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 rye (Arrhenatherum elatius)
• French sash
• French seam
• French Sign Language
• French sole
• French Somaliland
• French sorrel (Rumex scutatus)
• French Southern and Antarctic Lands
• French spacing
• French spinach (Atriplex hortensis)
• French stick
• French-style
• French Sudan
• French tickler
• french toast
• French toast
• French Togoland
• French trumpet
• French tub
• French Turn
• French twist
• French vanilla
• French West Africa
• French willow
• french window
• French window
• French wire
• Frenchwoman
• Frenchy
• take French leave
• Vichy French

 

Descendants

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

Translations

of or relating to France

Albanian: francez (sq) Arabic: فَرَنْسِِِيّ‎ (ar) (faransiiiyy), فَرَنْسَاوِيّ‎ (faransāwiyy) Egyptian Arabic: فرنساوي‎ (faransāwi) 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) (phôrasi) Bulgarian: фре́нски (bg) (frénski) Burmese: ပြင်သစ် (prangsac) 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) (phreñc) Hungarian: francia (hu) Icelandic: franskur (is) Ido: Franciana (io) 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 Latvian: franču Lithuanian: prancūzų (lt), prancūziškas Macedonian: француски (francuski) Malay: Perancis (ms) Maori: Wīwī (mi) 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) Rusyn: францу́зькый (francúzʹkŷj) 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) (faronsavī) 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

Arabic: فَرَنْسِيّ‎ (ar) (faransiyy), فَرَنْسَاوِيّ‎ (faransāwiyy) Egyptian Arabic: فرنساوي‎ (faransāwi) 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) (phreñc) Hungarian: francia (hu) Icelandic: franskur (is) Ido: Franciana (io) 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) 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) 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

Arabic: فَرَنْسِيّ‎ (ar) (faransiyy), فَرَنْسَاوِيّ‎ (faransāwiyy) Egyptian Arabic: فرنساوي‎ (faransaauuii) 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) (phreñc) 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) (frantsuzça), франсузча (fransuzça) Latvian: franču Lithuanian: prancūzų (lt) Malay: bahasa Perancis, Perancis (ms) 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) 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 ⁠