Word of the Week: Pommes Frites

Pommes Frites

“Pommes frites” — obviously French. If you’ve taken a French class, you know that the word “pomme” means “apple” and the word “frite” means fried. So if you order “pommes frites” from a restaurant menu, will your server bring you a heaping plate of fried apples?

While fried apples are good in their own right and deserve a place on that restaurant menu, “pommes frites” actually refers to French fries. You see, the French word for potato is actually “pomme de terre,” or “fruit of the earth.”