Crossword Genius

Weaken one in French island dependency (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

unman

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'weaken' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'one in french island dependency' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'one' could be 'un' (northern English dialect form of 'one') and 'un' is present in the answer.
'island' could be 'man' (the Isle of Man is an example) and 'man' is found in the answer.
No letters remain.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for unman that I've seen before include "Deprive of virility" , "terrify" , "Cause to lose courage" , "Withdraw personnel" , "Take strength from" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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