French letter
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From French + letter. Compare earlier French pox, French-sick (“syphilis”), or later French safe, French tickler (“condom”), or French kiss. Attested from the 19th century.
Noun[edit]
French letter (plural French letters)
- (UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, dated, euphemistic) A condom.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:condom
- 1984, Leslie Thomas, In my Wildest Dreams, page 289:
- ‘So you’re fifteen – and you know the function of a “French letter”? You are familiar with its use?’
‘I know what it’s for, sir, yes.’
- 2012, Courtney Milan, A Kiss for Midwinter[1], page 80:
- “I suppose it’s too much to hope that you have a question about gonorrhea. Those questions are so much easier to answer.” […]
“I was going to ask about what you said earlier. That you’d... that you’d... not used a French letter in eighteen months.”
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
condom — see condom
References[edit]
- “French, adj. and n.”, in OED Online
, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, September 2009.
