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french (frĕnch)
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tr.v. frenched, french·ing, french·es
1. To cut (green beans, for example) into thin strips before cooking.
2. To trim fat or bone from (a chop, for example).
3. or French
a. Slang To give a French kiss to.
b. Vulgar Slang To perform oral sex on.
[From FRENCH.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 
French (frĕnch)
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adj.
1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of France or its people or culture.
2. Of or relating to the French language.
n.
1. The Romance language of France, parts of Switzerland and Belgium, and other countries formerly under French influence or control.
2. (used with a pl. verb) The people of France.
3. Informal Coarse or vulgar language: Pardon my French.
[Middle English, from Old English frencisc, Frankish, from Franca, Frank; see FRANK.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 
French, Daniel Chester 1850-1931.
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American sculptor whose many public statues include the seated marble figure of Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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