French by the nuns
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
French was a common acquirement of the time and freely used at Court and in society; but it was a somewhat archaic French, descending from Norman days,, and not such as was current in Paris.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “French by the nuns” mean?
French was a common acquirement of the time and freely used at Court and in society; but it was a somewhat archaic French, descending from Norman days,, and not such as was current in Paris.
Is “French by the nuns” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.