Freight"less, a. Destitute of freight.
Frel"te (?), n. Frailty. [Obs.] Chaucer.
{ Fremd (?), Frem"ed (?) } a. [OE., from AS. fremede, fremde; akin to
G. fremd.] Strange; foreign. [Old Eng. & Scot.] Chaucer.
Fren (frn), n. [OE. frenne, contr. fr. forrene foreign. See Foreign,
a.] A stranger. [Obs.] Spenser.
French (frnch), a. [AS. frencisc, LL. franciscus, from L. Francus a
Frank: cf. OF. franceis, franchois, franÁois, F. franÁais. See Frank,
a., and cf. Frankish.] 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 [French
(here used in sense of "foreign") + pie a magpie (in allusion to its
black and white color)] (Zoˆl.), 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.