Definition: French (FRANK-uh-sis) is a French-speaking variety of Spanish, whose roots can be traced to medieval France. The term "franc" comes from the Latin root "fra", meaning "to form," as in "French." The word "saisir" literally means "to speak," and it's used with the verb "se," which is French for "to say." Hereβs a fun way to understand 'francais': It's like saying, "I have a very important job that I need to do right now."