French prop. a.  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)] Zool., the European great spotted woodpecker (Dryobstes major); -- called also wood pie.
 French polish. (a) A preparation for the surface of woodwork, consisting of gums dissolved in alcohol, either shellac alone, or shellac with other gums added. (b) 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.


 Hon·ey·suc·kle n.  Bot. One of several species of flowering plants, much admired for their beauty, and some for their fragrance.
 Note: ☞ The honeysuckles are properly species of the genus Lonicera; as, Lonicera Caprifolium, and Lonicera Japonica, the commonly cultivated fragrant kinds; Lonicera Periclymenum, the fragrant woodbine of England; Lonicera grata, the American woodbine, and Lonicera sempervirens, the red-flowered trumpet honeysuckle.  The European fly honeysuckle is Lonicera Xylosteum; the American, Lonicera ciliata. The American Pinxter flower (Azalea nudiflora) is often called honeysuckle, or false honeysuckle.  The name Australian honeysuckle is applied to one or more trees of the genus Banksia. See French honeysuckle, under French.

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 French honeysuckle
      n 1: European herb with small fragrant crimson or white spurred
           flowers [syn: red valerian, Centranthus ruber]
      2: perennial of southern Europe cultivated for forage and for
         its nectar-rich pink flowers that make it an important
         honey crop [syn: sulla, Hedysarum coronarium]