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French

1
[ french ]
/ frɛntʃ /
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adjective
of, relating to, or characteristic of France or its inhabitants, language, or culture: French cooking.
noun
(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.
a Romance language spoken in France, parts of Belgium and Switzerland, and in areas colonized after 1500 by France. Abbreviations: F, Fr.
verb (used with object)
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Idioms about French

    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.

Origin of French

1
First recorded before 1150; Middle English Frennsce, Frensh, French, from Old English Frencisc; see origin at Frank, -ish1

OTHER WORDS FROM French

Frenchness, noun

Other definitions for French (2 of 2)

French2
[ french ]
/ frɛntʃ /

noun
Alice "Octave Thanet", 1850–1934, U.S. novelist and short-story writer.
Daniel Chester, 1850–1931, U.S. sculptor.
Sir John Den·ton Pink·stone [den-tn -pingk-stohn, -stuhn], /ˈdɛn tn ˈpɪŋk stoʊn, -stən/, 1st Earl of Ypres, 1852–1925, English field marshal in World War I.
Marilyn, 1929–2009, U.S. novelist and nonfiction writer.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use French in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for French (1 of 2)

French1
/ (frɛntʃ) /

noun
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 groupSee also Old French, Anglo-French
the French (functioning as plural) the natives, citizens, or inhabitants of France collectively
adjective
relating to, denoting, or characteristic of France, the French, or their languageRelated prefixes: Franco-, Gallo-
(in Canada) of or relating to French Canadians

Derived forms of French

Frenchness, noun

Word Origin for French

Old English Frencisc French, Frankish; see Frank

British Dictionary definitions for French (2 of 2)

French2
/ (frɛntʃ) /

noun
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)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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