franco

See also: Franco, franco-, and Franco-

English

Etymology 1

From Italian franco (“French”). Doublet of franc and frank.

Noun

franco (plural francos)

1. (historical) A former currency of Lucca in Tuscany, Italy, issued between 1805 and 1808.
2. The CFA franc as used in Equatorial Guinea, worth 4 ekwele.

Related terms

• franc

See also

• lira

Etymology 2

From Franco-.

Noun

franco (plural francos)

1. Alternative letter-case form of Franco (“French person”).
   • 1977, Report on Confederation:

     The anglos have seen the whole of the country, and the continent, as hospitable, while the francos have over a long period come to view Quebec as their real homeland.

   • 1998, Dick Bird, Never the Same Again: A History of VSO, Cambridge: The Lutterworth Press, →ISBN, page 193:

     Something similar had occurred in Canada, where first of all the sector is divided between anglos and francos; […]

   • 2011, Katharine Goodland, John O’Connor, A Directory of Shakespeare in Performance since 1991, volumes 3 (Canada and USA), Palgrave Macmillan, →ISBN, page 153:

     “Language is always an issue in Quebec and here’s a play that both anglos and francos will have a language problem with,” Ackerman says.

Dutch

Etymology

From Italian porto franco.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

franco (not comparable)

1. with freightages paid by the sender

Declension

Declension of franco
uninflected	franco
inflected	franco
comparative	—
		positive
predicative/adverbial		franco
indefinite	m./f. sing.	franco
	n. sing.	franco
	plural	franco
definite		franco
partitive		—

Descendants

• → Caribbean Javanese: prangko
• → Indonesian: prangko (“postage stamp”), franko (“free”)
  • → Petjo: prangko, perangko

References

• M. J. Koenen & J. Endepols, Verklarend Handwoordenboek der Nederlandse Taal (tevens Vreemde-woordentolk), Groningen, Wolters-Noordhoff, 1969 (26th edition) [Dutch dictionary in Dutch]

Esperanto

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfrant͡so/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ant͡so
• Syllabification: fran‧co

Noun

franco (accusative singular francon, plural francoj, accusative plural francojn)

1. a French person

   Hypernym: eŭropano

Derived terms

• francino (“Frenchwoman”)

Related terms

• franca (“French”)
• france (“in French”)
• Francio (“France”)

Further reading

• “franco”, in Plena Ilustrita Vortaro de Esperanto [Complete Illustrated Dictionary of Esperanto], 2020, →ISBN
• “franco”, in Reta Vortaro [Online Dictionary] (in Esperanto), 1997-2026

Galician

Feira franca ("free market"), Pontevedra: a festival that re-enacts a medieval tax-free market

Etymology

From Late Latin francus (“Frankish”), from Frankish *Franko (“a Frank”), from Proto-Germanic *frankô (“javelin”).

The adjectival forms, from Old French franc (“free”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɾaŋko/ [ˈfɾɑŋ.kʊ]
• Rhymes: -aŋko
• Hyphenation: fran‧co

Noun

franco m (plural francos, feminine franca, feminine plural francas)

1. Frank
2. (archaic) Frenchman

   Synonym: francés

3. franc (former currency of France and other countries)
   • 1401, M. Lucas Alvarez; M. J. Justo Martín (eds.), Fontes documentais da Universidade de Santiago de Compostela. Pergameos da serie Bens do Arquivo Histórico Universitario (Anos 1237-1537). Santiago: Consello da Cultura Galega, page 276:

     uendo, segundo dito he, por doze francos d'ouro da moneda del rey de França

     I sell, as said, for twelve francs of gold, of the coinage of the king of France

Derived terms

• francés
• Francia
• Franco
• Francos

Related terms

• francada
• Francoi
• Francuín
• Franzomil

Adjective

franco (feminine franca, masculine plural francos, feminine plural francas)

1. tax-free

   Synonym: exento

2. free, unobstructed

   Synonym: libre

3. sincere, true

   Synonym: sinxelo

4. (archaic) generous

   Synonym: xeneroso

Derived terms

• francamente
• franquear
• franqueo
• franquía

References

• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “franco”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval [Dictionary of dictionaries of Medieval Galician] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “franco”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Santamarina, editor (2006–2013), “franco”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Santamarina, Ernesto X. González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “franco”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from French franc.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfran.ko/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -anko
• Hyphenation: fràn‧co

Adjective

franco (feminine franca, masculine plural franchi, feminine plural franche)

1. frank, candid
2. free (of duty)

   franchi tiratori ― snipers

3. Frankish

Derived terms

• francamente
• franchezza
• sfranchire

Adverb

franco

1. frankly

Noun

franco m (plural franchi)

1. Frank (Frankish person)
2. franc (money)

Descendants

• → Cimbrian: franko

Further reading

• franco in Collins Italian-English Dictionary
• franco in garzantilinguistica.it – Garzanti Linguistica, De Agostini Scuola Spa
• “frànco” in Dizionario Italiano Olivetti, Olivetti Media Communication

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈfraŋ.koː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈfraŋ.ko]

Adjective

francō

1. dative/ablative masculine/neuter singular of francus

Portuguese

Etymology

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese franco, from French franc.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈfɾɐ̃.ku/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈfɾɐ̃.ku/

• Rhymes: -ɐ̃ku
• Homophone: Franco
• Hyphenation: fran‧co

Adjective

franco (feminine franca, masculine plural francos, feminine plural francas)

1. free, unimpeded
2. tax-free
3. frank (bluntly honest)
4. (historical) Frankish (referring to the Franks)

   Synonym: frâncico

Noun

franco m (plural francos)

1. franc (former currency of France and Belgium)
2. franc (any of several units of currency)
3. Frank (one of the Franks)

Further reading

• “franco”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “franco” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913
• “franco”, in Dicionário Infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “franco”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN
• “franco”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Etymology

From Middle French franc, from Medieval Latin Francus (“a Frank”), from Frankish *Franko, from Proto-Germanic *frankô (literally “spear, javelin”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɾanko/ [ˈfɾãŋ.ko]
• Rhymes: -anko
• Syllabification: fran‧co

Noun

franco m (plural francos)

1. franc (former currency of France and other countries)

Derived terms

• franco cefa
• franco CFA

Adjective

franco (feminine franca, masculine plural francos, feminine plural francas)

1. frank, candid, straightforward
2. generous, liberal, openhanded
3. free, unimpeded, unencumbered
4. exempt, free
5. Frankish

   Synonym: fráncico

Derived terms

• ballena franca
• bola franca
• francamente
• franco bordo
• franco de servicio
• lengua franca
• piso franco
• zona franca

Related terms

• francoguayanés
• franqueza

See also

• honesto

Further reading

• “franco”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025