English

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Etymology

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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.

Noun

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French letter (plural French letters)

  1. (UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, dated, euphemistic) A condom.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:condom
    • 1984, Leslie Thomas, In my Wildest Dreams, page 289:
      ‘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.’
    • 2012, Courtney Milan, A Kiss for Midwinter[1], page 80:
      “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.”

Derived terms

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Translations

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References

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