Strips of potato that have been deep-fried until crispy; short for French fries.
Short form of 'French fries', though the 'French' likely refers to the method of cutting (frenching) rather than French origin. The term became common in American English in the early 20th century as this cooking method gained popularity.
Despite being called 'French' fries, they likely originated in Belgium, where people were frying potato strips in the 17th century. The confusion arose because American soldiers in WWI encountered them in French-speaking parts of Belgium and assumed they were French in origin!
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