franc

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English frank,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Middle French franc,^[5][3][6] which first named a gold coin worth one livre tournois, struck from 1360.^[5][3] The name comes from the Latin legend on the first coins, “Johannes Dei gratia Francorum rex”, John, by the grace of God King of the French.^[5] The OED takes the name as probably shortened from Medieval Latin Francōrum, the genitive plural of Francī (“the French”),^[5] and most dictionaries derive it from the phrase Francōrum rēx (“king of the Franks”);^{[6][7][8][9][10][11][12]} Etymonline gives this as the reason the name is said to have been given,^[13] and Barnhart derives it "apparently" from Francus (“a Frank”).^[4] The coins were first struck under John II, Jean le Bon,^[5][7][8] after his return from captivity in England.^[5] The word belongs with Frank.^[13][4][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

A French gold coin: about 1390, in Chaucer's Shipman's Tale, "An hundred frankes".^[2][5][4]

Semantic evolution

The name passed from the medieval gold coin to a silver coin of the same value;^[5] Merriam-Webster dates a French silver franc from 1575 to 1641.^[3] Etymonline notes that it was used of different gold and silver coins over the years.^[13] In 1795 the franc became the official monetary unit of France, divided into 100 centimes,^[5][13] and it remained so until it was replaced by the euro, in 1999 according to the OED and Merriam-Webster, in 2002 according to Collins.^[5][3][14] Belgium, Luxembourg and Monaco also used francs until the euro, and Switzerland, Liechtenstein and several former French territories still do.^[14][3]

Timeline

• c. 1390 – frank, a French gold coin, in Chaucer.^[2][5][4]
• 1420 – the spelling francs, in a document printed in Rymer's Foedera.^[2]
• 1795 – the monetary unit of France, of 100 centimes.^[5][13]

Meanings

Noun

1. The basic monetary unit of Switzerland and Liechtenstein, divided into 100 centimes: The watch cost two thousand francs.^[14][3]
2. The basic monetary unit of several countries formerly ruled by France, such as Djibouti and the Comoros.^[3][14]
3. The former monetary unit of France, from 1795 until the introduction of the euro, and of Belgium, Luxembourg and Monaco.^[14][3][5]
4. (historical) A French gold coin first struck in 1360, and later a silver coin of the same value.^[3][5]

Related words

• Frank
• frank
• franchise

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
7. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
11. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
12. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
13. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
14. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins