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

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. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

franc francs

Switzerland’s central bank has said it would act to stem an uncontrolled rise in the franc.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Chances are, the Swiss franc will always be costly, Cox said.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026

Goldman said the amount of carry available relative to expected volatility in trades such as U.S. dollar-Canadian dollar and euro-Swiss franc is now close to multidecade highs.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026

He said interest rates in major currency areas had risen, increasing the difference between Swiss rates and thereby easing upward pressure on the franc.

From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026

If the company borrowed millions of francs and then went bust, Armand Peugeot did not owe its creditors a single franc.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

Most of the watches were quartz and priced below 1,000 Swiss francs, or about $1,230 at current exchange rates.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 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

The insurance service result increased to 691 million francs from 659 million francs, while the net investment result grew 14% to 290 million francs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

Swiss Life is launching a new share buyback of 250 million Swiss francs and reported that first-half net profit rose to 643 million francs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

Despite hiring an investigator, spending thousands of francs, and poring through reams of German documentation, Marie-Laure and Etienne were never able to determine what exactly happened to her father.

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