French
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: french
Contents
English[edit]
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
- 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.
- 1997, Albert Valdman, French and Creole in Louisiana, page 29
- A surname.
Translations[edit]
Romance language spoken in France
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- 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
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See also[edit]
- Wiktionary's coverage of French terms
- Appendix:French Swadesh list for a Swadesh list of basic vocabulary words in French
Noun[edit]
French
- (collective in the 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.
- (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
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vulgar language
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Adjective[edit]
French (comparative more French, superlative most French)
- Of or relating to France.
- the French border with Italy
- Of or relating to the people or culture of France.
- French customs
- Of or relating to the French language.
- French verbs
- (prostitute's slang) Oral sex, usually meaning fellatio, sometimes cunnilingus.[1]
References[edit]
- ^ French, adj. and n. 3c. Oxford English Dictionary (subscription required). Retrieved: 2015-10-06.
Derived terms[edit]
Terms derived from the adjective French
Translations[edit]
of or relating to France
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of or relating to the French people
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of or relating to the French language
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- 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)
- 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.
- 1995, Jack Womack, Random Acts of Senseless Violence, page 87:
Alternative forms[edit]
Synonyms[edit]
Translations[edit]
kiss (a person) while inserting one’s tongue into his or her mouth
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kiss in this manner
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See also[edit]
Statistics[edit]
Most common English words before 1923: returned · seems · soul · #403: French · family · earth · live
External links[edit]
- ISO 639-1 code fr, ISO 639-3 code fra
- Ethnologue entry for French, fr
Categories:
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English words suffixed with -ish
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English proper nouns
- English surnames
- English nouns
- English collective nouns
- English informal terms
- English adjectives
- English verbs
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