Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1300-1400
Language: French
Origin: 'free, generous', from Late Latin Francus 'Frank' (because the Franks, an ancient German people, were given political freedom in France)

frank

1 adjective
     
frank1
1 honest and truthful
be frank with somebody
He was completely frank with her about what happened.
be frank about something
She was quite frank about the whole thing.
2

to be frank

spoken used when you are going to say something that is true, but which other people may not like:
To be perfectly frank, I think it's a bad idea.
—frankness noun [uncountable]
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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