French | Define French at Dictionary.com
French
of, relating to, or characteristic of France, its inhabitants, or their language, culture, etc.:
French cooking.
the people of France and their direct descendants.
3.
a Romance language spoken in France, parts of Belgium and Switzerland, and in areas colonized after 1500 by France.
Abbreviation: F.
(often lowercase) to prepare (food) according to a French method.
5.
(often lowercase) to cut (snap beans) into slivers or thin strips before cooking.
6.
(often lowercase) to trim the meat from the end of (a rib chop).
7.
(often lowercase) to prepare (meat) for cooking by slicing it into strips and pounding.
8.
Slang. to short-sheet (a bed).
9.
(often lowercase) Slang: Vulgar. to give oral stimulation of the penis or vulva.
Origin of French
before 1150; Middle English Frensh, French, Old English Frenc(i)sc. See Frank , -ish 1
Related forms
Usage note
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The adjective French appears in the set phrase French pox in which it implies that sexual behavior in France produces a greater occurrence of sexually transmitted disease than is found elsewhere. Although insulting a particular person or nationality may be unintentional, use of this term is usually perceived as offensive to or by the French. However, the same hypersexuality stereotype in a more neutral term, like French kiss , or in the older slang term French letter , is not likely to offend.
French
Alice ("Octave Thanet") 1850–1934, U.S. novelist and short-story writer.
2.
Daniel Chester, 1850–1931, U.S. sculptor.
3.
Sir John Denton Pinkstone
[den-tn pingk-stohn,, -stuh n] /ˈdɛn tn ˈpɪŋk stoʊn,, -stən/ (Show IPA), 1st Earl of Ypres, 1852–1925, English field marshal in World War I.
4.
Marilyn, 1929–2009, U.S. novelist and nonfiction writer.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Examples from the Web for French
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Contemporary Examples
Sir Mark Sykes, a crusty diplomat who had colluded with the French to give them Damascus, was more defiantly a misogynist.
A Presidential Double Date Eric Pape March 29, 2010
Miller first appeared on the cover of Vogue in 1927 in a blue hat and pearls, drawn by renowned French illustrator Georges Lepape.
Historical Essays James Ford Rhodes
British Dictionary definitions for French
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noun
1.
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 group See also Old French , Anglo-French
2.
(functioning as pl) the French, the natives, citizens, or inhabitants of France collectively
3.
adjective
4.
relating to, denoting, or characteristic of France, the French, or their language related prefixes Franco- Gallo-
5.
(in Canada) of or relating to French Canadians
Derived Forms
Old English Frencisc French, Frankish; see Frank
French2
noun
1.
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
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Word Origin and History for French
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adj.
Old English frencisc "of the Franks," from Franca (see Frank ). The noun is from Old English Frencisc. As the name of a language, from late 13c.
Euphemistic meaning "bad language" (pardon my French) is from 1895. Used in many combination-words, often dealing with food or sex. French dressing recorded by 1860; French toast is from 1630s. French letter "condom" (c.1856, perhaps on resemblance of sheepskin and parchment), French (v.) "perform oral sex on" (c.1917) and French kiss (1923) all probably stem from the Anglo-Saxon equation of Gallic culture and sexual sophistication, a sense first recorded 1749 in the phrase French novel.
To take French leave, "depart without telling the host," is 1771, from a social custom then prevalent. However, this is said to be called in France filer à l'anglaise, literally "to take English leave."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Slang definitions & phrases for French
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