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 rose to a three-month high against the euro as worries over French protests and fiscal risks weigh on the single currency and boost safe-haven demand.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

It also starts DSV at sector perform with a 1,250 Danish kroner price target and Kuehne + Nagel at sector perform with a 235 Swiss franc target.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

Switzerland’s Federal Administrative Court overturned an 18 million Swiss franc antitrust fine against Swisscom.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

Rising global interest rates leave the franc the lowest-yielding major currency and an increasingly attractive funding source in carry trades, BCA Research strategist Felix Vezina-Poirier said in a note.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

I gave the waiter a franc and we went out.

From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway

Roche raised its annual peak sales estimate for divarasib to between 2 billion and 3 billion Swiss francs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

Nestle’s organic sales growth surpassed company-compiled analyst expectations of 3.4% for the quarter, while the total sales figure also surpassed expectations of 22.49 billion francs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

The antitrust watchdog concluded in December 2023 that Swisscom had abused its market dominance and fined it 18 million francs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 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

Mother called me to help figure the bills and exchange the many kinds of money: pence from Massachusetts, shillings from Virginia, British pounds, and French francs.

From "Fever 1793" by Laurie Halse Anderson

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