Frenchman

noun

French·man ˈfrench-mən

1

: a native or inhabitant of France

2

: a person who is of French descent

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of Frenchman was before the 12th century

See more words from the same century

Cite this Entry

Style

“Frenchman.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Frenchman. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

Frenchman

noun

French·man ˈfrench-mən

: a person who is French

More from Merriam-Webster

Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.

Can you solve 4 words at once?

Can you solve 4 words at once?

Word of the Day

griot

Listen to the pronunciation of griot

See Definitions and Examples »

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Using Bullet Points ( • )

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

A Guide to Using Semicolons

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Popular in Wordplay

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 3

Our Best Historical Slang Terms

Birds Say the Darndest Things

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

Better Ways to Say 'This Sucks'

Popular

Using Bullet Points ( • )

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 3

Our Best Historical Slang Terms