Word origins

• exigeantexigent; demanding
• exigeanteA demanding woman.
• exoreicRunning or draining to the sea.
• exposéThe act of exposing somebody or something; a shameful showing up.
• extermineTo exterminate (someone or something); to destroy.
• externatA day school.
• extincteurA small hollow conical instrument for putting out a candle.
• extirpTo extirpate (something).
• EychenneA surname from French [in turn from Occitan].
• fabulistA person who writes, tells, or extensively studies fables.
• façonnéA fabric having a pattern woven into it, especially one in which the pattern stands out from a sheer background.
• -factionThe act of creating something, or (more broadly) any process involving the specified thing.
• fadaiseA vapid or meaningless remark; a commonplace; nonsense.
• FaillerA surname from French.
• fait accompliSomething which has already happened, before those affected had the chance to raise objections or queries; especially, such a thing that cannot be undone.
• faites vos jeuxIn roulette, the call made by the croupier when gamblers can place their bets.
• falbalaA furbelow.
• falcadeA horse's movement of throwing itself on its haunches two or three times, bending in very quick curvets.
• falucheA type of beret, decorated with ribbons and badges, traditionally worn by some French students.
• FameuseA kind of sweet red apple originating in Canada.
• famille roseA type of Chinese porcelain, primarily from the 18th and 19th centuries, decorated in (chiefly pink) overglaze enamels.
• fanalA lighthouse
• fanfaronadeEmpty, self-assertive boasting; an instance of such behaviour.
• FanguyA surname from French.
• fanionA small flag used for marking positions, especially by soldiers and surveyors.
• FaouziA male given name from Arabic, variant of Fawzi
• farandoleA lively chain dance in 6/8 time, of Provençal origin.
• far bretonA traditional cake or dessert from the Brittany region in France, with a base similar in composition to a clafoutis batter, a flan-style eggs-and-milk custard with flour, with prunes or raisins commonly added.
• farceurA person who writes farces, or who performs in them.
• farcyThe horse disease glanders, especially its cutaneous form.
• fardageScrap material, used to fill space and/or prevent goods from moving about during transport
• faroucheSullen or recalcitrant.
• FarrengA surname from French [in turn from Occitan].
• fasciationThe binding up of a limb, etc., with bandages.
• fascineOriginally a cylindrical bundle of small sticks of wood, and now often a bundle of plastic pipes, bound together, and used for strengthening purposes, such as in revetments for riverbanks, and in mats for dams, jetties, etc.
• fatigableSusceptible to fatigue; easily able to become physically exhausted.
• fauchA village in Tarn department, France.
• fauchardAn early European weapon consisting of a curved blade on a long pole.
• faujasiteA zeolite mineral consisting of sodalite cages connected through hexagonal prisms.
• faussebrayeA second rampart, exterior and parallel to the main rampart, and considerably below its level.
• faute de mieuxFor want of something better; for lack of an alternative; as a makeshift.
• fauvetteAny of a number of small songbird, such as nightingales or warblers.
• fauvistOf or pertaining to fauvism.
• faux amiA false friend; one of a pair of words in different languages or dialects that look similar and may be related but that differ significantly in meaning.
• faux boisThe artistic imitation of wood or wood grains in various media.
• faux fraisThe faux frais of production.
• faux pasAn embarrassing or tactless blunder.
• feculenceThe state or quality of being feculent.
• féerieA fantastical theatrical production or film featuring fairies.
• félibreA member of a literary fellowship founded in 1854 to promote the literature and culture of Provence in France; also someone who adheres to such ideas, a traditional Provençal poet.
• felquisteA member of the Front de Libération du Québec, a militant Quebec separatist group founded in the 1960s.
• femme fataleAn attractive and seductive but ultimately dangerous woman.
• femme incompriseA misunderstood or unappreciated woman.
• fenestronA protected tail rotor of a helicopter, operating like a ducted fan.
• FenouilletA French variety of apple with a taste like fennel.
• fer-de-lanceBothrops lanceolatus or other lancehead snakes of genus Bothrops.
• fer-de-molineSynonym of millrind.
• fermièrePrepared in a simple rustic style.
• ferripriveSuffering from a deficiency of iron
• ferronnièreA headband that encircles the wearer's forehead, usually with a small jewel suspended in the centre.
• FervidorThermidor (the eleventh month of the French Revolutionary Calendar)
• fête champêtreA garden party (pastoral festival) that was a popular form of entertainment in the 18th century, particularly popular at the French court, at Versailles. In theory it is a simple pastoral festival but in practice it was often contrived and elaborate with orchestras and fancy dress.
• feu de joieA bonfire.
• feuillemorteOf the color of dead or dying leaves: dull yellowish or orangish brown.
• feuilletéA dish made with thin layers of puff pastry.
• feuilletineCrispy flakes of crêpe used in desserts.
• feuilletonA section of a European newspaper typically dedicated to arts, culture, criticism, and light literature.
• feuilletonistA writer of feuilletons.
• fiacreA small horse-drawn carriage for hire; a hackney carriage.
• fiancéA man who is engaged to be married; the man to whom one is engaged; an intended.
• fiancéeA woman who is engaged to be married; the woman to whom one is engaged.
• fiantsThe dung of the wolf, fox or badger.
• ficelleA very narrow French loaf.
• FichenA surname from French.
• fichuA woman's lightweight triangular scarf worn over the shoulders and tied in front, or tucked into a bodice to cover the exposed part of the neck and chest.
• FigarolA village in Haute-Garonne department, Occitania, France.
• figuretteA figurine.
• filasseVegetable fiber, such as jute or ramie, prepared for manufacture.
• filéA spicy herb made from the dried and ground leaves of the North American sassafras tree (Sassafras albidum) and used in Louisiana Creole cooking.
• filet mignonA steak cut of beef taken from the tenderloin, or psoas major, of the steer or heifer.
• fille de joieA female prostitute; a courtesan.
• film blancA film characterized by an optimistic outlook, contrasting with film noir.
• film d'auteurA film of a movie director or a screenwriter which reflects their artistic personality.
• film noirA film genre characterized by low-key lighting, a bleak urban setting, and corrupt, cynical or desperate characters.
• financièreInvolving a heavy sauce flavored with truffles, mushrooms and Madeira wine, and garnished with one or more of olives, kidneys, quenelles, sweetbreads, livers, and cockscombs.
• fin de sièclePertaining to the close of the 19th century, usually suggesting a literary and artistic climate of modernism, world-weariness, and self-indulgence.
• FinistèreA cape in Brittany, France.
• fisher catA North American carnivorous mammal (Pekania pennanti, syn. Martes pennanti) of the weasel family.
• flambéBeing, or having been, flambéed.
• flamboyerAny of various trees in the East and West Indies with brilliant blossoms, probably species of Caesalpinieae, especially of Delonix and Caesalpinia, all of which were formerly in the obsolete genus Poinciana.
• flamicheA French savoury tart made with leeks and cream.
• flamingantA Flemish-language activist.
• flanconadeA thrust in the side.
• flânerieidling about, dawdling about, loafing about
• flaneuseA female flaneur.
• flasqueflabby
• flatulateTo fart, to emit digestive gases from the anus, especially with accompanying sound and smell.
• flècheAn arrow.
• FleurantA surname from French.
• fleurdeliséSynonym of fleur-de-lysed.