Frankly speaking

Q. Such a short word, so many meanings

A. Indeed. From Ol' Blue Eyes to the post, this single-syllable has more meanings than almost any other in the English language.

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Q. And the list

A. Here goes, in no particular order:

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A member of a West Germanic people that entered the Roman provinces in AD 253, occupied the Netherlands and most of Gaul (hence the name France; the German name Frankreich, Kingdom of the Franks, gives the game away) and established themselves along the Rhine (the German town of Frankfurt, 'Frank fort', is testament to this).

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Western Europeans were collectively known as Franks (viz. Feringhee, the slightly derogatory Hindi-Urdu word for Europeans, taken from the Persian version of Frank) in the Levant and the Middle East. Hence Lingua Franca, 'language of the Franks', the lingua franca of the Mediterranean in the 16th and 17th centuries.

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A pig sty; a use that went out in the early 19th century.

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A mark on an envelope made either by the Post Office in order to endorse a stamp or used as a pre-paid tariff in place of a stamp. Also the signature of the sender on a piece of franked mail serving in place of a postage stamp.

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An onomatopoeic word for the sound that herons make - anyone heard that before

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Short for frankfurter - the sausage, not the denizens of the city of Frankfurt.

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A free man, one not in slavery.

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To be free from restriction, obligation or anxiety.

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Politically liberal.

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Open or forthright in speech or character (probably the most common use today).

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Unmistakable.

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Luxuriant growth (of plants).

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Generous or bountiful.

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High quality (as in frankincense, 'quality incense').

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Short for Francis and, less commonly, Frances.

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The main unit of currency of Belgium, France and Switzerland. Former French colonies in Africa, such as Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast, use the CFA Frank (Communaut� Financi�re Africaine franc).

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Q. Enough franks

A. Frankly Yes.

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See also the articles on Lingua Franca and Polari

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For more on Phrases & Sayings click here

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By Simon Smith