English

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[edit] English

[edit] Etymology

From Middle English, from Old English Englisċ (“of the Angles”), from Engle (“the Angles”), a Germanic tribe.

[edit] Pronunciation

  • enPR: ĭng'glĭsh, IPA: /ˈɪŋɡlɪʃ/, /ˈiŋɡlɪʃ/, SAMPA: /"INglIS/
  • Audio (US)
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  • Audio (UK)
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  • Hyphenation: Eng‧lish

[edit] Adjective

English (comparative more English, superlative most English)

  1. English-language; of or pertaining to the English language.
  2. Of or pertaining to England or its people.
  3. Of or pertaining to an Englishman or Englishwoman.
  4. Of or pertaining to the avoirdupois system of measure.
    an English ton

[edit] Translations

of or pertaining to the English language
of or pertaining to England
of or pertaining to an Englishman, Englishwoman, the English
of or pertaining to the avoirdupois system
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

[edit] Proper noun

English

  1. The language originating in England but now spoken in all parts of the British Isles, the Commonwealth of Nations, the United States of America, and other parts of the world.
    English is spoken here as an unofficial language and lingua franca.
  2. (collective plural) The people of England; Englishmen and Englishwomen.
    The Scottish and English have a history of conflict.

[edit] Usage notes

  • The name of the language, English, when it means "the English language", does not assume an article.
  • The people as a collective noun requires the definite article "the" or a demonstrative adjective.

[edit] Translations

the English language
person from England
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

[edit] Noun

English (usually uncountable; plural Englishes)

  1. One’s ability to employ the English language correctly.
    My coworker has pretty good English for a non-native speaker.
  2. The English-language term or expression for something.
    What’s the English for ‘à peu près’?
  3. Specific language or wording; a text or statements in speech, whether a translation or otherwise.
    The technical details are correct, but the English is not very clear.
  4. (countable) A regional type of spoken and or written English; a dialect.

[edit] Translations

one’s ability to employ the English language
English-language term or expression
specific language or wording

[edit] Verb

English (third-person singular simple present Englishes, present participle Englishing, simple past and past participle Englished)

  1. (transitive) (archaic) To translate, adapt or render into English.
    • 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, New York 2001, p. 214:
      [...] severe prohibuit viris suis tum misceri feminas in consuetis suis menstruis, etc. I spare to English this which I have said.

[edit] Derived terms

Terms derived from the adjective, noun, proper noun, or verb English

[edit] See also

[edit] Quotations

[edit] Statistics

[edit] External links

[edit] Anagrams

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