French

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See also french

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English [edit]

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Etymology [edit]

From Middle English Frenche, Frensch, Frensc, Frenkisch, Franche, from Old English frencisc (“French”, literally “Frankish”), equivalent to Frank +‎ -ish. Cognate with Danish fransk (“French”), Swedish fransk, fransysk (“French”), Icelandic franska (“French”). Compare Frankish.

Pronunciation [edit]

Proper noun [edit]

French

  1. A Romance language spoken primarily in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Quebec, Valle d'Aosta and many former French colonies.
    • 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.

Translations [edit]

Romance language spoken in France
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

See also [edit]

Noun [edit]

French

  1. (collective plural) People of France, collectively.
    The French and the English have often been at war.
    • 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. (informal) Vulgar language.
    Pardon my French.

Usage notes [edit]

When used to refer collectively to people of France, the word French is preceded by the definite article or some other determiner.

Derived terms [edit]

Translations [edit]

people of France, collectively
vulgar language

Adjective [edit]

French (comparative more French, superlative most French)

  1. Of or relating to France.
    the French border with Italy
  2. Of or relating to the people or culture of France.
    French customs
  3. Of or relating to the French language.
    French verbs

Derived terms [edit]

Terms derived from the adjective French

Translations [edit]

of or relating to France
of or relating to the French people
of or relating to the French language
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

Verb [edit]

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

  1. (transitive) To kiss (another person) while inserting one’s tongue into the other person's mouth.
    • 1988, Wanda Coleman, A War of Eyes and other stories, page 151
      Tom frenched her full in the mouth.
  2. (intransitive) To kiss in this manner.
    • 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 [edit]

Synonyms [edit]

Translations [edit]

kiss (a person) while inserting one’s tongue into his or her mouth
kiss in this manner

See also [edit]

Statistics [edit]

External links [edit]

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