French
Language: English
Part of speech: name
Pronunciation: enpr: frĕnch
ipa: /fɹɛnt͡ʃ/
rhymes: -ɛntʃ
Forms: form: Frenches
Etymology: Inherited from Middle English Frenche, Frensch, Frensc, Frenshe, Frenk, Franche, from Old English Frenċisċ (“Frankish, French”), from Proto-West Germanic *Frankisk (“Frankish”), equivalent to Frank + -ish (compare Frankish). Cognate with Middle Low German vranksch, frenkisch, vrenkesch, vrenksch (“Frankish, French”), Middle High German vrenkisch, vrensch ("Frankish, Franconian; > German fränkisch (“Frankish, Franconian”)), Danish fransk (“French”), Swedish fransk, fransysk (“French”), Icelandic franska (“French”).
Doublet of Frankish; piecewise doublet of Francis, Franz, and Francisco, which are derived from Late Latin Franciscus
In reference to vulgar language, from expressions such as pardon my French in the early 19th century, originally in reference to actual (but often mildly impolite) French expressions by the upper class, subsequently adopted ironically by the lower class for English curse words under the charitable conceit that the listener would not be familiar with them.
In reference to vermouth, a shortened form of French vermouth, distinguished as usually being drier than Italian vermouth.
Senses: examples: text: She speaks French.
text: Ne mowe we alle Latin wite...
Ne French...
ref: c. 1390, Robert Grosseteste, translating Chateau d'Amour as The Castle of Love, ll. 25 ff.
text: I... wolde also be bolde in such french as is peculiare to the lawys of this realme, to leue it wyth them in wrytynge to.
ref: 1533, Thomas More, The Debellacyon of Salem & Bizance, fol. 96
text: I could speak but little French.
ref: 1720, Daniel Defoe, Memoirs of a Cavalier, page 13:
text: Thus, complementary to the French of France, the Quebecois (and in a lesser degree the Frenches of Africa, Swiss French, etc.) would constitute languages in their own right.
ref: 1991, Michael Clyne, Pluricentric Languages: Differing Norms in Different Nations, Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 169:
text: Almost three quarters of the population 65 and older reported speaking French.
ref: 1997, Albert Valdman, French and Creole in Louisiana, page 29:
text: Although he would spend the rest of his life in France, Picasso never mastered the language, and during those early years he was especially self-conscious about how bad his French was.
ref: 2004, Jack Flam, Matisse and Picasso: The Story of Their Rivalry and Friendship, page 18:
text: The Frenches of England remain as working languages in the different registers of various occupational communities and for particular social rituals. Beyond the fifteenth century, French is a much less substantial presence in England, though[…]
ref: 2013, Jocelyn Wogan-Browne, Language and Culture in Medieval Britain: The French of England, C.1100-c.1500, Boydell & Brewer Ltd, →ISBN, page 361:
text: For the abbreviation of the name of the pieces, each player is free to use the name which is commonly used in his/her country. Examples: F = fou (French for bishop), L = loper (Dutch for bishop). In printed periodicals, the use of figurines is recommended.
ref: 2022, “2023 Laws of Chess”, in FIDE, page 21:
synonyms: mul:fr
mul:fre
glosses: The language of France, shared by the neighboring countries Belgium, Monaco, and Switzerland and by former French colonies around the world.
examples: text: My French is a little rusty.
text: [Racine's] language is the language of the times, and that of the purest sort; so that his French is reckoned a standard.
ref: 1742 April 4, R. West, letter to Thomas Gray
glosses: The ability of a person to communicate in French.
examples: text: I'm taking French next semester.
glosses: French language and literature as an object of study.
examples: text: Pardon my French.
text: The enraged headsman spares no 'bad French' in explaining his motives.
ref: 1845, Edward Jerningham Wakefield, Adventure in New Zealand, volume I, page 327:
text: Cameron: Pardon my French, but you're an asshole!
ref: 1986, John Hughes, Ferris Bueller's Day Off'
text: The book... is a welcome change from theory-infected academic discourse, pardon my French.
ref: 2005 May 29, New York Times Book Review, page 12:
glosses: Vulgar language.
examples: text: Dawn French.
glosses: A surname originating as an ethnonym.
Derived terms: Acadian French
Anglo-French
Cajun French
Canadian French
excuse my French
forgive my French
French and English
French artichoke
Frenchburg
French-esque
French telephone
Frenchville French
Haitian French
Louisiana French
Métis French
Middle French
Missouri French
Modern French
Muskrat French
New England French
Newfoundland French
Norman French
Old French
pardon my French
Paw Paw French
Quebec French
Saint-Barthélemy French
Saint Pierre and Miquelon French
Related terms: Wiktionary’s coverage of French terms