French, Gallic
(adjective) of or pertaining to France or the people of France; “French cooking”; “a Gallic shrug”
French
(noun) the Romance language spoken in France and in countries colonized by France
French, French people
(noun) the people of France
French, Daniel Chester French
(noun) United States sculptor who created the seated marble figure of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. (1850-1931)
French
(verb) cut (e.g, beans) lengthwise in preparation for cooking; “French the potatoes”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
French (countable and uncountable, plural Frenches)
(chiefly uncountable) The language of France, shared by the neighboring countries Belgium, Monaco, and Switzerland and by former French colonies around the world.
(uncountable) The ability of a person to communicate in French.
(uncountable) French language and literature as an object of study.
(uncountable, euphemistic, now often ironic) Vulgar language.
A surname.
French (countable and uncountable, plural French or Frenches)
(chiefly collective and plural) The people of France; groups of French people.
(uncountable, dated slang) synonym of oral sex, especially fellatio.
(chiefly uncountable, dated slang) synonym of dry vermouth.
The use of the plural form Frenches occurred in early modern English but is only seldomly and exceptionally encountered in contemporary English. As with other collective demonyms, French is preceded by the definite article or some other determiner when referring to the people of France collectively.
French (comparative more French, superlative most French)
Of or relating to France.
Of or relating to the people or culture of France.
Of or relating to the French language.
(slang, sexuality) Of or related to oral sex, especially fellatio.
(informal, often, euphemistic) Used to form names or references to venereal diseases.
• Gallian, Gallic, Gaulish
French (third-person singular simple present Frenches, present participle Frenching, simple past and past participle Frenched)
Alternative letter-case form of french
french (third-person singular simple present frenches, present participle frenching, simple past and past participle frenched)
(transitive) To prepare food by cutting it into strips.
(transitive) To kiss (another person) while inserting one’s tongue into the other person's mouth.
(intransitive) To kiss in this manner.
(cuisine) To French trim; to stylishly expose bone by removing the fat and meat covering it (as done to a rack of lamb or bone-in rib-eye steak).
• (to kiss while inserting tongue):Â French kiss, French
Source: Wiktionary
French, a. Etym: [AS. frencisc, LL. franciscus, from L. Francus a Frank: cf. OF. franceis, franchois, fran, F. franFrank, a., and cf. Frankish.]
Definition: Of or pertaining to France or its inhabitants. French bean (Bot.), the common kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris).
– French berry (Bot.), the berry of a species of buckthorn (Rhamnus catharticus), which affords a saffron, green or purple pigment.
– French casement (Arch.) See French window, under Window.
– French chalk (Min.), a variety of granular talc; -- used for drawing lines on cloth, etc. See under Chalk.
– French cowslip (Bot.) The Primula Auricula. See Bear's-ear.
– French fake (Naut.), a mode of coiling a rope by running it backward and forward in parallel bends, so that it may run freely.
– French honeysuckle (Bot.) a plant of the genus Hedysarum (H. coronarium); -- called also garland honeysuckle.
– French horn, a metallic wind instrument, consisting of a long tube twisted into circular folds and gradually expanding from the mouthpiece to the end at which the sound issues; -- called in France cor de chasse.
– French leave, an informal, hasty, or secret departure; esp., the leaving a place without paying one's debts.
– French pie Etym: [French (here used in sense of "foreign") + pie a magpie (in allusion to its black and white color)] (Zoöl.), the European great spotted woodpecker (Dryobstes major); -- called also wood pie.
– French polish. (a) A preparation for the surface of woodwork, consisting of gums dissolved in alcohol, either shellac alone, or shellac with other gums added. (b) The glossy surface produced by the application of the above.
– French purple, a dyestuff obtained from lichens and used for coloring woolen and silken fabrics, without the aid of mordants. Ure.
– French red rouge.
– French rice, amelcorn.
– French roof (Arch.), a modified form of mansard roof having a nearly flat deck for the upper slope.
– French tub, a dyer's mixture of protochloride of tin and logwood;
– called also plum tub. Ure.
– French window. See under Window.
French, n.
1. The language spoken in France.
2. Collectively, the people of France.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
5 February 2025
(noun) activity involved in maintaining something in good working order; “he wrote the manual on car care”
The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.
