French

¹

[french]

adjective

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

   French cooking.

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.

French

²

[french]

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.

French

¹

/ 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

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

/ 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)

Other Word Forms

• Frenchness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of French¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of French¹

Old English Frencisc French, Frankish; see _Frank

Idioms and Phrases

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.

Example Sentences

Editions are now available in Hebrew, English and French, and Sharabi hopes for more translations.

Read more on Barron's

Attorneys for the French bank argued that its operations in Sudan had been legal in Europe, and stated that the bank had no knowledge of the human rights violations.

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Sheila chose to learn to do puzzles and crosswords while one of the French patients used them to help navigate the Paris Metro -- both tasks being more complex than reading alone.

Read more on Science Daily

She started with Saratoga, the East Coast water, before moving on to her French favorite: Evian.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The yield on French government bonds rose after S&P Global Ratings cut its rating on the country, a decision that came earlier than expected.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• brush 
• glance 
• graze 
• greet 
• salute