The Collaborative International Dictionary
French \French\ (fr[e^]nch), prop. a. [AS. frencisc, LL. franciscus, from L. Francus a Frank: cf. OF. franceis, franchois, fran[,c]ois, F. fran[,c]ais. 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)] (Zo["o]l.), the European great spotted woodpecker ( Dryobstes major); -- called also wood pie. French polish.
A preparation for the surface of woodwork, consisting of gums dissolved in alcohol, either shellac alone, or shellac with other gums added.
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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.
Leave \Leave\, n. [OE. leve, leave, AS. le['a]f; akin to le['o]f pleasing, dear, E. lief, D. oorlof leave, G. arlaub, and erlauben to permit, Icel. leyfi. [root]124. See Lief.]
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Liberty granted by which restraint or illegality is removed; permission; allowance; license.
David earnestly asked leave of me.
--1 Sam. xx. 6.No friend has leave to bear away the dead.
--Dryden. -
The act of leaving or departing; a formal parting; a leaving; farewell; adieu; -- used chiefly in the phrase, to take leave, i. e., literally, to take permission to go.
A double blessing is a'double grace; Occasion smiles upon a second leave.
--Shak.And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren.
--Acts xviii. 18.French leave. See under French.
Syn: See Liberty.
Wikipedia
French leave is "leave of absence without permission or without announcing one's departure", including leaving a party without bidding farewell to the host. The intent behind this behaviour is to leave without disturbing the host.
The phrase is first recorded in 1771 and was born at a time when the English and French cultures were heavily interlinked.
In French, the equivalent phrase is filer à l'anglaise ("to leave English style") and seems to date from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
French Leave is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on 20 January 1956 by Herbert Jenkins, London and in the United States on 28 September 1959 by Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York.
The title stems from the expression french leave - to leave without saying goodbye to one's host or hostess.
French leave may refer to:
- French leave, a leave of absence without permission or without announcing one's departure
- French Leave (novel), by Wodehouse
- French Leave (de Larrabeiti), memoirs
- French Leave (play), a play by Reginald Berkeley
- French Leave (1930 film), a 1930 British film adaptation
- French Leave (1937 film), a 1937 British film adaptation
French Leave is a collection of memoirs written by the English author Michael de Larrabeiti. It was published in 2003 in the United Kingdom by Robert Hale.
Category:2003 books Category:Books by Michael de Larrabeiti
French Leave is a 1930 British comedy film directed by Jack Raymond and starring Madeleine Carroll, Sydney Howard and Arthur Chesney. It was made at Elstree Studios. It is based on a play by Reginald Berkeley, a "light comedy in three acts", set during the First World War. It was remade in 1937 by Norman Lee.
French Leave is a 1937 British comedy film directed by Norman Lee and starring Betty Lynne, Edmund Breon and John Longden. It was based on a play by Reginald Berkeley which had previously been made into a film of the same title in 1930. It was made at Welwyn Studios.
Usage examples of "french leave".
But should the French leave your country, your lands will be taken away from you and you will have to work in a colchos.
O'Brien receives his commission as lieutenant and then we take french leave of Givet.
And if Patton insisted on holding him away much longer, he'd damn well take French leave and head into town on his own.
They would send me back to New Orleans, assuming that the prying bumpkin Lincoln kept his suspicions to himself -- which seemed likely -- and it was imperative that I should take french leave before there was any risk of my confronting the _Balliol College_ crew at their trial.