Frenchwoman

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A female citizen or native of France, or a woman of French descent and heritage
2. A woman born in or belonging to the nation of France by birth or by citizenship
3. Someone of the female sex who comes from France and is considered French by nationality

Etymology: The word is a plain compound: "French" plus "woman," meaning a woman of France or of French nationality. Its earliest form traces to Middle English "Frensche wymen," the plural of "Frensche wyman" that is, a phrase of two separate words that later fused into one. Middle English spelled the plural "wymen" as it was pronounced, and the modern spelling "women" in "Frenchwomen" is a survival of that older pattern. The surprising part is how ordinary the formation is. English speakers once wrote "Frensche wymen" as two words and only gradually closed the gap, so the compound grew out of a simple adjective-plus-noun phrase rather than being coined deliberately. Its meaning has stayed literal throughout: it names a woman defined by her French nationality, with nothing figurative attached.