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Glite Dictionary
Franklin

Franklin

426 4.6
An American leader, writer, and scientist who helped write the Declaration of Independence
  • proper noun
  • /ˈfræŋklɪn/
translation icon : Benjamín Franklin
  • If you read Franklin's autobiography, you will gain insight into his life and ideas during the founding of the United States.
  • Benjamin Franklin
  • Franklin and Washington
  • Franklin and Jefferson

So you're a rowing coach and you won the Benjamin Franklin Award for your writing.

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Examples

  • You know, Benjamin Franklin had to go over to France.

  • You know, Ben Franklin had an expression, he was a smart guy.

    Stanford

  • Its members included Benjamin Franklin, then U.S.

  • For instance, Benjamin Franklin and his son William ended up on opposite sides of the American Revolution.

    Academic text (2008)

  • After years of conflict between President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Congress, the bill finally became law in 1938.

    Academic text (2017)

  • In 1933, facing a deep economic crisis, Franklin Roosevelt began a far-reaching reform of domestic agencies.

    Academic text (1992)

  • The American Embassy paid their respects to Ben Franklin's statue in the courtyard.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Time is money, so went Benjamin Franklin's maxim for the modern tradesman.

    Academic text (1992)

  • There was a glimmer of hope in 1933, when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt created the Civilian Conservation Corps.

    Academic text (2011)

  • Franklin was a key figure in the American Revolution, known for his contributions to both science and government.

Synonyms

Benjamin Franklin
vsFranklin
1 3.4

An American leader, inventor, and writer who helped start the United States and studied electricity

uses only the family name alone in a shorter form

Compounds

Benjamin Franklin Bridge
3.6

A bridge held up by cables across the Delaware River between Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey

Surface Forms

Franklin main

Etymology

Franklin comes from an old English word for a 'free' landowner. It joins frank meaning 'free' with the ending -lin, so a franklin was a free person who owned land rather than a noble. That meaning became a family name, which is why the American statesman is known as Franklin.