Frenchman
(ˈfrɛnʃmən)
[f. French a. + man. In early use two words.]
1. a. A man of French birth or nationality.
| O.E. Chron. an. 1052 (Laud MS.), Þa Frencisce menn. c 1205 Lay. 7663 ælc Frensc mon þe wes aht hæfð hine seolfne bi-þoht. a 1300 Cursor M. 239 Mast es it wroght for frankis man. 1382 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 516 Sharper enemys and traitours þan Frensshe men and alle oþere naciouns. 1480 Caxton Chron. Eng. ccxliv. (1482) 295 The kyng..was wonder sore agreued and right euyll payed toward the frensshmen. 1545 R. Ascham Toxoph. (Arb.) 79 The spanyardes, franchmen and germanes. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts 125 The breast is by the Frenchmen called peculiarly Hampan. 1782 Cowper Truth 303 The Frenchman first in literary fame. 1841 T. A. Trollope Summer W. France I. i. 5 The generality of Frenchmen, too, are naturally averse to travelling. |
† b. Incorrectly used for: An ancient Gaul.
| 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) III. 271 Afterward he come and brak the siege of Frensche men [Gallorum]. 1513 Douglas æneis viii. xi. 35 How the Franchemen did the ȝet assaill. 1600 Holland Livy xxii. lvii. 467 A Frenchman together with a French woman. |
2. A (good, etc.) French scholar. colloq.
| 1670 Cotton Espernon Pref., The greater part of them being better Frenchmen, than I pretend to be. 1828 Bentham Wks. 1843 I. 247 The subject was not without its difficulties; the language French: I am but a sorry Frenchman now; I was, I imagine, not quite so bad an one then. |
3. A French ship.
| 1889 Daily News 21 Oct. 6/5 The vessel..proved to be a Frenchman. |
† 4. In Virginian tobacco-raising (see quot. 1688).
| 1688 J. Clayton in Phil. Trans. XVII. 948 French-men they call those Plants, whose leaves do not spread and grow large, but rather spire upwards, and grow tall. 1896 P. A. Bruce Econ. Hist. Virginia I. 439 The plants..showed..a tendency to lag in their growth and to take a spiral shape. For this reason they were always referred to as ‘Frenchmen’, a people who were associated in the Virginian mind with tallness and attenuation in form. |
5. A knife used in pointing brickwork.
| 1885 Spons' Mechanics' Own Bk. 591 This Frenchman is simply an old dinner-knife ground to a point, the tip of which is turned down square to form a hook. 1934 T. S. Eliot Rock i. 22 Fancy anyone not knowin' that a Frenchman's a pointin' tool! |
6. The French or red-legged partridge, Alectoris rufa.
| 1893 Baily's Mag. Oct. 258/1 The red leg, the very much-abused ‘Frenchman’ of the English fields. 1920 F. M. Oglivie Field Observ. Brit. Birds 58 A Frenchman..has a loud, combative call. 1965 P. Wayre Wind in Reeds iii. 41 If they are Frenchmen, they may refuse to fly and simply run in front of the dog. |
Hence ˈFrenchmanlike a. and adv.
| 1807 W. Taylor in Ann. Rev. V. 560 The character of Orasmane is somewhat too chivalrous and Frenchmanlike for an Eastern sultan. 1827 Southey Penins. War II. 419 Frenchmen like, they had a theatre in their camp. |