How do you pronounce franciscan?

The recorded pronunciation is /fɹænˈsɪsk(ə)n/.

franciscan

/fɹænˈsɪsk(ə)n/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.93 in modern English

Syllables: Fran-cisc-an
IPA: /fɹænˈsɪsk(ə)n/

Scrabble Score

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Meaning

noun

A friar of the religious order founded by Saint Francis of Assisi in 1209, now known as the Order of the Friars Minor.

noun

A friar or nun of a religious order based on the rule of Francis of Assisi's original order, such as (Roman Catholicism) the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (for men), Order of Friars Minor Conventual (men), Order of Saint Clare (women), or the Third Order of Saint Francis (men and women); or (Protestantism) certain orders in some Protestant churches, especially the Anglican Church and the Lutheran Church.

adj

Of or pertaining to Saint Francis of Assisi.

adj

Of or pertaining to (Roman Catholicism) the Order of the Friars Minor, or (Protestantism, Roman Catholicism) to another religious order based on the rule of Francis of Assisi's original order.

Example Sentences

"[O]ur old antient Purgatory pick-purſe, that vvas ſvvaged and covvled vvith a Franciſcan’s covvl, […]"
"[A] ſilly iealous fellovve, that ſeeing his child nevv borne included in a kell [i.e., caul], thought ſure a Franciſcan that vſed to come to his houſe, vvas the father of it, it vvas ſo like a Friers Covvle, and therevpon threatned the Frier to kill him."
"We tried the Franciscans. The Jesuits. The Paulists. The Trappists. The Benedictines. […] Not one Franciscan in this city can make a positive identification of this bearded American priest. Every Franciscan we talked to was sure this man was not a member of their order. Yet he wears their habit and he heard confessions in one of their most important churches."
"[T]he cities were growing rapidly, but the urban parish system was not, so when Franciscans entered the cities to preach, they encountered a substantial population in need not only of preaching but also of pastoral care."
"Holy Franciſcan Frier, brother, ho."
"In his life time hee [Henry VII of England] founded the goodly Hoſpitall of the Sauoy, built ſixe religious Houſes for Franciſcan Friers, three of them for Obſeruants, and the other three for Conuentuals."

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Late Latin Franciscānus (“(noun) friar of the order of Saint Francis; (adjective) of or from the order of Saint Francis”) + English -an (suffix forming agent nouns; and meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives). Franciscānus is derived from Franciscus (“the given name Francis, the name of Saint Francis of Assisi (c. 1181 – 1226)”) + Latin -ānus (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’, denoting relationships of origin, position, or possession); and Franciscus from Francia (“region inhabited or ruled over by the Franka, Frankia”) (apparently a nickname from Francis’s father, an Italian merchant who worked in France) + -iscus (suffix forming adjectives).

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Prefix: -an
Root: -ānus

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /fɹænˈsɪsk(ə)n/
British English: /fɹænˈsɪsk(ə)n/

Inflected Forms

Franciscans (plural)

Derived Forms

Franciscanism Franciscanness franciscanite

Phrases

San Franciscan

Frequently Paired Words

San Franciscan Joachimite Recollect Spiritual

Synonyms

Cordelier Friar Minor Minorite Observant Capuchin Conventual greyfriar Clarisse Clarissine Minoress Poor Clare