franc

[ frangk; French frahn ]

noun

, plural francs [frangks, f, r, ah, n].

1. an aluminum or nickel coin and monetary unit of France, Belgium, and Luxembourg until the euro was adopted, equal to 100 centimes. : F., f., Fr, fr.
2. any of the monetary units of various other nations and territories, as Liechtenstein, Martinique, Senegal, Switzerland, and Tahiti, equal to 100 centimes.
3. a former silver coin of France, first issued under Henry III.
4. a former monetary unit of Algeria, Guinea, and Morocco.

franc

/ fræŋk; frɑ̃ /

noun

1. Also calledFrench franc the former standard monetary unit of France, most French dependencies, Andorra, and Monaco, divided into 100 centimes; replaced by the euro in 2002
2. the former standard monetary unit of Belgium ( Belgian franc ) and Luxembourg ( Luxembourg franc ), divided into 100 centimes; replaced by the euro in 2002
3. Also calledSwiss franc the standard monetary unit of Switzerland and Liechtenstein, divided into 100 centimes
4. Also calledfranc CFACFA francfranc of the African financial community the standard monetary unit, comprising 100 centimes, of the following countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo
5. the standard monetary unit of Burundi ( Burundi franc ), Comoros ( Comorian franc ), Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaïre; Congolese franc ), Djibouti ( Djibouti franc ), Guinea ( Guinea franc ), Madagascar ( franc malgache ), Rwanda ( Rwanda franc ), and French Polynesia and New Caledonia ( French Pacific franc )

Word History and Origins

Origin of franc¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English frank, from Middle French franc, so called because the coin was first inscribed with the name of the king as Medieval Latin Rēx Francōrum “King of the Franks”; Frank ¹( def ); frank ¹( def )

Example Sentences

Speaking near the area she was found, now overgrown with brambles, nettles and horse chestnut trees, detective Franc Dannerolle says the teenager’s body was “disposed of like garbage”.

From BBC

Nicolas Sarkozy came to power in 2007 vowing not to take a single franc from Africa, and Bourgi says he kept to his word.

From BBC

A spokeswoman for Louis Le Franc, France’s top official in New Caledonia, declined to comment.

From New York Times

He said the realisation of where he was being sent came when his sergeant handed him a one franc note.

From BBC

At least 60 members of the security forces were injured and 214 people were arrested over clashes with police, arson and looting Thursday, Le Franc said.

From Seattle Times