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

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

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

Mounting French fiscal concerns have sent French bond-yield spreads surging, drawing demand for the Swiss franc due to Switzerland’s low debt and interest-rate levels.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

The reduction in U.S. rate-rise expectations therefore proved a welcome reprieve for the franc.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 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

Analysts had forecast Givaudan’s quarterly sales at 1.99 billion francs and like-for-like growth at 4.7%, according to consensus estimates compiled by the company.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

The dollar fell to a one-week low of 0.8264 Swiss francs as markets trimmed expectations for further U.S. interest-rate increases.

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

Deutsche Bank initiates the Swiss orthopedics company’s stock at hold, with a target of 121 francs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 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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