British
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also british
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English [edit]
Alternative forms [edit]
- Brittish (archaic)
Etymology [edit]
In Old English as Bryttisc "Britons" [1]. The spelling with single -t- appears in the 13th century under the influence of Latin Britannia, but spelling with -tt- persists alongside -t- during the 13th to 17th centuries.
In reference to the island of Great Britain from ca. 1400 (Latin natio Anglica sive Britannica, Brittisshe occean 1398, the Britishe nacion 1548). As a noun, referring to the British people, British soldiers, etc. from ca. 1600.
Pronunciation [edit]
Proper noun [edit]
British
- With the, the citizens or inhabitants of Britain collectively.
- With the, the citizens or inhabitants of the United Kingdom collectively.
- (history) The ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain before the Anglo-Saxon invasion, also called ancient Britons.
- The Celtic language of the ancient Britons
- The British English language.
Translations [edit]
citizens or inhabitants of Britain
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the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
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history: ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
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the British English language
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
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Adjective [edit]
British (comparative more British, superlative most British)
- Of Britain (meaning the British Isles)
- Of the United Kingdom.
- Of the Commonwealth of Nations, or the British Empire.
- (historical) Of the ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain; Brythonic.
Translations [edit]
of Britain
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colloquial: of the UK
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history: of the ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Quotations [edit]
- For usage examples of this term, see the citations page.
Statistics [edit]
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Most common English words before 1923: school · language · court · #752: British · meant · tears · expected
