Meanings
plural French letters
- CommonwealthIrelandUKdatedeuphemisticA condom.
‘So you’re fifteen – and you know the function of a “French letter”? You are familiar with its use?’ ‘I know what it’s for, sir, yes.’
1984, Leslie Thomas, In my Wildest Dreams, page 2891 more example
“I suppose it’s too much to hope that you have a question about gonorrhea. Those questions are so much easier to answer.”[…] “I was going to ask about what you said earlier. That you’d... that you’d... not used a French letter in eighteen months.”
2012, Courtney Milan, A Kiss for Midwinter, page 80Synonyms: condom, cum catcher, rubber
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA condom.
Origin
From French + letter. Compare earlier French pox, French-sick (“syphilis”), or later French safe, French tickler (“condom”), or French kiss. Attested from the 19th century.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
French letter. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/French%20letter
“French letter.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/French%20letter. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “French letter,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/French%20letter.
Source: French letter on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.