Franciscan

American  

[fran-sis-kuhn] / frænˈsɪs kən /

adjective

1. of or relating to St. Francis or the Franciscans.

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noun

1. a member of the mendicant order founded by St. Francis in the 13th century.

Franciscan British  

/ frænˈsɪskən /

noun

1. 1. a member of any of several Christian religious orders of mendicant friars or nuns tracing their origins back to Saint Francis of Assisi; a Grey Friar

   2. ( as modifier )

      a Franciscan friar

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Etymology

Origin of Franciscan

1585–95; < Medieval Latin Francisc ( us ) St. Francis of Assisi + -an

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Franciscan

Stephen Street, a 63-year-old longtime San Franciscan and Marina resident, saw the mock-ups for the development and grimaced.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

Paolo Benanti, a Franciscan Friar of the Third Order and a Catholic priest, teaches moral philosophy at Luiss Guido Carli University and is a professor of ethics of technology at Seattle University.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026

The company, which celebrated its 50th birthday this week, was started by two Steves in a San Franciscan garage.

From BBC ● Apr. 4, 2026

It sparked debates up and down the Golden State as many people at the time still held a high regard for the Franciscan priest who was canonized in 2015.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 21, 2026

He was wearing a mechanic’s overalls and Franciscan sandals without socks, and he had a huge black beard that reached halfway down his chest.

From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende