French

¹ American  

[french] / frɛntʃ /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of France or its inhabitants, language, or culture.

   French cooking.

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noun

1. (used with a plural verb)  the people of France collectively.

   Philosophies advanced by the French during the Age of Reason profoundly influenced the American Founding Fathers.

2. a Romance language spoken in France, parts of Belgium and Switzerland, and in areas colonized after 1500 by France. F, Fr.

verb (used with object)

1. (often lowercase)  to prepare (food) according to a French method.

2. (often lowercase)  to cut (snap beans) into slivers or thin strips before cooking.

3. (often lowercase)  to trim the meat from the end of (a rib chop or chicken breast with attached wing).

   For this recipe, the chops on the rack of lamb are Frenched about an inch. To french a chicken breast, scrape down the meat on the wing to expose the bone.

4. (often lowercase)  to prepare (meat) for cooking by slicing it into strips and pounding.

5. Slang.  to short-sheet (a bed).

6. (often lowercase)  to give (someone) a French kiss.

   Her parents found her frenching her boyfriend on the porch swing after curfew.

7. (often lowercase)  to perform fellatio or cunnilingus on.

idioms

1. excuse / pardon one's French,  (used to excuse or apologize for the use of vulgarity).

   Pardon my French—I didn’t realize there were ladies present.

French ² American  

[french] / frɛntʃ /

noun

1. Alice Octave Thanet, 1850–1934, U.S. novelist and short-story writer.

2. Daniel Chester, 1850–1931, U.S. sculptor.

3. Sir John Denton Pinkstone 1st Earl of Ypres, 1852–1925, English field marshal in World War I.

4. Marilyn, 1929–2009, U.S. novelist and nonfiction writer.

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French ¹ British  

/ frɛntʃ /

noun

1. the official language of France: also an official language of Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, and certain other countries. It is the native language of approximately 70 million people; also used for diplomacy. Historically, French is an Indo-European language belonging to the Romance group See also Old French Anglo-French

2. (functioning as plural) the natives, citizens, or inhabitants of France collectively

3. See French vermouth

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adjective

1. relating to, denoting, or characteristic of France, the French, or their language

2. (in Canada) of or relating to French Canadians

French ² British  

/ frɛntʃ /

noun

1. Sir John Denton Pinkstone , 1st Earl of Ypres. 1852–1925, British field marshal in World War I: commanded the British Expeditionary Force in France and Belgium (1914–15); Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1918–21)

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Other Word Forms

• Frenchness noun

Etymology

Origin of French

First recorded before 1150; Middle English Frennsce, Frensh, French, from Old English Frencisc; Frank, -ish ¹

Example Sentences

Other men who served in the Sudan included John French, the first commander of the British Expeditionary Force in France, and Douglas Haig, who succeeded him from December 1915 until the armistice.

From The Wall Street Journal

"The court is facing an unprecedented time with these coercive measures that have been levelled at judges and prosecutors, including one French magistrate," said Darmanin.

From Barron's

The ex-king sought to bridge gaps with his family and nation when his memoirs, titled "Reconciliation", were first published in French in France last month.

From Barron's

“I wasn’t sure at the start if it would be right, but it became the voice of the creature,” the French composer says.

From Los Angeles Times

Britain's government said Monday it was withdrawing financial support for a gas project in Mozambique that French firm TotalEnergies is aiming to resume after suspending it following a jihadist attack.

From Barron's

Related Words

• brush
• glance
• graze
• greet
• salute