franc

American  

[frangk, frahn] / fræŋk, frɑ̃ /

noun

• francs
  plural

1. an aluminum or nickel coin and monetary unit of France, Belgium, and Luxembourg until the euro was adopted, equal to 100 centimes. F., f., Fr, fr.

2. any of the monetary units of various other nations and territories, as Liechtenstein, Martinique, Senegal, Switzerland, and Tahiti, equal to 100 centimes.

3. a former silver coin of France, first issued under Henry III.

4. a former monetary unit of Algeria, Guinea, and Morocco.

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franc British  

/ fræŋk, frɑ̃ /

noun

1. Also called: French franc. the former standard monetary unit of France, most French dependencies, Andorra, and Monaco, divided into 100 centimes; replaced by the euro in 2002

2. the former standard monetary unit of Belgium ( Belgian franc ) and Luxembourg ( Luxembourg franc ), divided into 100 centimes; replaced by the euro in 2002

3. Also called: Swiss franc. the standard monetary unit of Switzerland and Liechtenstein, divided into 100 centimes

4. Also called: franc CFA, CFA franc, franc of the African financial community. the standard monetary unit, comprising 100 centimes, of the following countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo

5. the standard monetary unit of Burundi ( Burundi franc ), Comoros ( Comorian franc ), Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaïre; Congolese franc ), Djibouti ( Djibouti franc ), Guinea ( Guinea franc ), Madagascar ( franc malgache ), Rwanda ( Rwanda franc ), and French Polynesia and New Caledonia ( French Pacific franc )

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• francs
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of franc

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English frank, from Middle French franc, so called because the coin was first inscribed with the name of the king as Medieval Latin Rēx Francōrum “King of the Franks”; Frank ¹ ( def. ); frank ¹ ( def. )

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

franc francs

The Swiss franc gained particularly against the euro amid concerns about France, hitting a two-month high of 0.9290 per euro.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

The Swiss franc rose strongly as investors sought safety amid a widening gap between French and German government bond yields.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

“The French debt selloff, the rise in volatility and, most importantly, the softening of interest rates all conspired to send the Swiss franc a lot higher.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

The central bank also dialled down its threat of interventions to weaken the franc by removing its reference to having an “increased willingness” to act.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

Every franc we’d saved up had gone to Eeben Axelroot, because Father had to bribe him flat-out to fly the two of us back from Léopoldville.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

If the market prices ECB rates lower, the euro could drop further towards 0.9250 francs, he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Following the announcement, Julius Baer saw its share price jump 7.23 percent shortly before closing, to 76.76 francs each, while the Swiss stock market's broader SPI index was up just 0.01 percent.

From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026

The dollar jumped to a 16-month high against the Swiss franc at 0.8349 francs after the Swiss National Bank left rates at 0% and remained cautious on raising rates at last week’s meeting.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

For the first half of 2026, Swiss Life said net profit rose to 643 million francs from 585 million francs a year before.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

It must at least look like a blue diamond worth twenty million francs.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

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