français French · revision 16403

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 1100, Chanson de Roland|origins=la-lat Francus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /fʁɑ̃.sɛ/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA: /fʁaŋ.se/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA: /fʁɑ̃.se/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Quebec): /fʁã.sɛ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''français''' (feminine française, masculine plural français, feminine plural françaises)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|franceis]] (1080), [[m|fro|françois]] (12th century); ''français'' is a late remaking (18th century).^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)

+ Littré notes ''franceis'' in Normandy and ''françois'' in the north.^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed [[af|fr|France|-ais]], Old French [[m|fro|franceis]], “France” continues [[la-lat|Francia|t=land of the Franks]], the name of the Romanized part of Gaul north of the Loire occupied by the Franks, derived from [[m|la-lat|Francus|t=a Frank]] (see [[franc]]).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|3, 750b) Medieval Latin had “franciscus” “of France” from the 7th century, and Wiktionary compares Early Medieval Latin [[m|la-med|francēnsis]].^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary) The suffix “-ois”, “-eis” comes from Latin [[m|la|-ēnsis]].^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is first found in the ''Chanson de Roland'' (about 1100) as ''franceis'', both adjective and noun.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The medieval forms were ''franceis'' and ''françois'', ''français'' is a late remaking of the 18th century.^(DHLF 1992) The adjective means “of France, its people and its language”; outside France it is used where it would be redundant in France (''du vin français''), and it may have a cultural rather than national value, as in ''Canadien français''.^(DHLF 1992) In a normative sense ''ce n'est pas français'' means “that is not good French”, ''à la française'' “in the French manner” is found in ''jardin à la française''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ The noun ''le français'' names the language, ''un Français'' a person of French nationality, ''franciser'' dates from the 16th century and ''francisation'' from 1796.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 7th century – Medieval Latin ''franciscus''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1100 – ''Franceis'' in the ''Chanson de Roland''.^(TLFi)

+ * 12th century – ''François''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 16th century – ''Franciser'', in Bonaventure des Périers.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 18th century – The spelling ''français''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1796 – ''Francisation''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|French]], of France or its people: ''la République française'', ''la cuisine française''.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # Of the French language: ''la langue française''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''À la française'': in the French manner.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''Le français'': the French language.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''Un Français, une Française'': a French person.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[franciser]]

+ * [[francisation]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[France]]

+ * [[franc]]

+ * [[francophone]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}