French means belonging or relating to France, or to its people, language, or culture.
...the French parliament.
All the staff are French.
Synonyms: Gallic More Synonyms of French
2. plural noun
TheFrench are the people of France.
The French are rightly proud of their traditions. .
3. uncountable noun
French is the language spoken in France and in parts of some other countries, including Belgium, Canada, and Switzerland.
The villagers spoke French.
French in British English1
(frɛntʃ)
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 75 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. the French
3. French vermouth
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
Frenchness (ˈFrenchness)
noun
Word origin
Old English Frencisc French, Frankish; see Frank
French in British English2
(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)
French in American English1
(frɛntʃ)
noun
1.
the Romance language spoken chiefly in France, French Canada, and certain parts of Belgium, Switzerland, and Africa
2. [oftenf-]; British
dry vermouth
adjective
3.
of France or its people, language, or culture
verb transitive [oftenf-]
4. US
to trim the meat from the end of the bone of (a lamb or veal chop)
5. US
to cut (string beans) into long, thin slices before cooking
Idioms:
the French
Word origin
ME Frensh < OE Frencisc < Franca, a Frank2
French in American English2
(frɛntʃ)
Daniel Chester1850-1931; U.S. sculptor
Word lists with
French
cuisines and cooking styles, European peoples
In other languages
French
British English: French /frɛntʃ/ ADJECTIVE
French means belonging or relating to France, or to its people, language, or culture.
...the French parliament.
American English: French
Arabic: فَرَنسيّ
Brazilian Portuguese: francês
Chinese: 法国的
Croatian: francuski
Czech: francouzský
Danish: fransk
Dutch: Frans
European Spanish: francés
Finnish: ranskalainen adjektiivi
French: français
German: französisch
Greek: γαλλικός
Italian: francese
Japanese: フランスの
Korean: 프랑스의
Norwegian: fransk
Polish: francuski
European Portuguese: francês
Romanian: francez
Russian: французский
Latin American Spanish: francés
Swedish: fransk
Thai: เกี่ยวกับชาวฝรั่งเศส
Turkish: Fransız
Ukrainian: французький
Vietnamese: thuộc nước/người/tiếng Pháp
British English: French /frɛntʃ/ NOUN
French is the language spoken by people who live in France and in parts of some other countries, including Belgium, Canada, and Switzerland.
American English: French
Arabic: اللغة الفرنسية
Brazilian Portuguese: francês
Chinese: 法国人
Croatian: francuski
Czech: francouzština
Danish: fransk
Dutch: Frans
European Spanish: francés
Finnish: ranska
French: français
German: Französisch
Greek: Γάλλος
Italian: francese
Japanese: フランス人
Korean: 프랑스 사람
Norwegian: franskmann
Polish: Francuz
European Portuguese: francês
Romanian: franceză
Russian: французский язык
Latin American Spanish: francés
Swedish: franska
Thai: ภาษาฝรั่งเศส
Turkish: Fransız
Ukrainian: французька мова
Vietnamese: tiếng Pháp
Definition of 'French'
All related terms of 'French'
Free French
an organization of French military personnel and volunteers formed in exile in London under General de Gaulle in 1940; they fought the Axis powers in the French colonies , Italy, and in the liberation of France
French bean
French beans are narrow green beans that are eaten as a vegetable . They grow on a tall climbing plant and are the cases that contain the seeds of the plant.
French cuff
a double cuff formed by a backward fold of the material
French door
French doors are the same as French windows .
French fact
(in Canada ) the presence of French Canada as a distinct cultural force within the Confederation
French foot
a foot of the mid-18th century having the form of a scroll , continuing the leg downward and outward , supported by a shoe
French-fry
of or relating to French fries
French heel
a fairly high and narrow-waisted heel on women's shoes
French horn
A French horn is a musical instrument of the brass family. It is shaped like a long metal tube with one wide end , wound round in a circle . You play the French horn by blowing into it and moving valves in order to obtain different notes.
French kiss
a kiss involving insertion of the tongue into the partner's mouth
French knot
an ornamental stitch made by looping the thread three or four times around the needle before putting it into the fabric
French loaf
a long straight notched stick loaf
French navy
a dark dull navy blue
French roll
→ French twist
French seam
a seam in which the edges are not visible
Law French
a set of Anglo-Norman terms used in English laws and law books
Old French
the French language in its earliest forms, from about the 9th century up to about 1400
the French
the natives, citizens , or inhabitants of France collectively
Anglo-French
of or relating to England and France
French bread
French bread is white bread which is baked in long, thin loaves .
French Canada
the areas of Canada , esp in the province of Quebec , where French Canadians predominate
French chalk
a compact variety of talc used to mark cloth or remove grease stains from materials
French curve
a thin plastic sheet with profiles of several curves , used by draughtsmen for drawing curves
French doors
a pair of casement windows extending to floor level and opening onto a balcony , garden , etc
French endive
→ chicory (sense 1 )
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
French fries
French fries are long, thin pieces of potato fried in oil or fat .
French Guiana
a French overseas region and department in NE South America , on the Atlantic : colonized by the French in about 1637; tropical forests . Capital: Cayenne . Pop: 229 000 (2009 est). Area: about 91 000 sq km (23 000 sq miles)
French Guinea
a former French territory of French West Africa : became independent as Guinea in 1958
French India
a former French overseas territory in India , including Chandernagore and Pondicherry ( now Puducherry ): restored to India between 1949 and 1954
French leave
an unauthorized or unannounced absence or departure
French letter
→ condom
French lilac
→ another name for goat's-rue (sense 1 )
French pastry
a rich pastry made esp from puff pastry and filled with cream , fruit , etc
French pleat
a woman's hair style with the hair gathered at the back into a cylindrical roll
French polish
French polish is a type of varnish which is painted onto wood so that the wood has a hard shiny surface.
French sixth
(in musical harmony ) an augmented sixth chord having a major third and an augmented fourth between the root and the augmented sixth
French stick
a long straight notched stick loaf
French Sudan
former French overseas territory in W Africa: since 1960, the republic of Mali
French toast
toast cooked on one side only
French twist
a woman's hairstyle in which the hair is pulled back and twisted into a vertical coil running down the back of the head
French Union
a union of France with its dependencies (1946–58): replaced by the French Community
French window
French windows are a pair of glass doors which you go through into a garden or onto a balcony .
Middle French
the French language from about 1340 to 1611; during this time French was put in place as the official language of France
Norman French
the medieval Norman and English dialect of Old French
Swiss-French
of or relating to a person from French-speaking Switzerland
Canadian French
the French language as spoken in Canada , esp in Quebec
French Academy
an association of 40 French scholars and writers , founded by Cardinal Richelieu in 1635, devoted chiefly to preserving the purity of the French language
French bulldog
a small stocky breed of dog with a sleek coat , usually brindled or pied , a large square head, and large erect rounded ears
French Canadian
French Canadian means belonging or relating to people who come from the part of Canada where French is spoken .
Chinese translation of 'French'
French
(frɛntʃ)
adj
法国(國)的 (Fǎguó de)
n(u)
(= language) 法语(語) (Fǎyǔ)
Derived Forms
the Frenchn pl (= people) 法国(國)人 (Fǎguórén)
(adjective)
Definition
of France
All the staff are French.
Synonyms
Gallic
related words
related prefixesFranco-Gallo-
language note:
The number of words which English has borrowed from French is considerable. In the following passage, French loan words are highlighted in bold: Close to half the general vocabulary of modern English derives from either French or Latin and, of this, a remarkable amount is directly descended from French. Words from French tend to be longer, with more syllables, and of a higher register than their English counterparts. They also tend to be nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs rather than grammatical words. There were several historical periodsduring which the majority of borrowing took place. After the Norman Conquest, the ruling class spoke Anglo-Norman, a dialect of French, for nearly 300 hundred years. French was the language of government, law, administration, and literature, but words were also adopted into the fields of medicine, art, and fashion. A later period of influx was during the Renaissance when developments in science and technology, and a focus on education and learning, led to a deliberate attempt to enrich the English language with foreign words. Equally, the French language has borrowed words from English and the close contact between the two cultures has even inspired a corrupt version of French called Franglais.