English

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English [edit]

Etymology [edit]

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

Pronunciation [edit]

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

Adjective [edit]

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
  5. (Amish) Non-Amish.

Translations [edit]

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

Proper noun [edit]

English

  1. The language originating in England but now spoken in all parts of the British Isles, the Commonwealth of Nations, North 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.
  3. (Amish, collective plural) The non-Amish.

Usage notes [edit]

  • 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.

Translations [edit]

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

Noun [edit]

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.

Translations [edit]

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

Verb [edit]

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 (2001 reprint), Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, page 214:
      […] severe prohibuit viris suis tum misceri feminas in consuetis suis menstruis, etc. I spare to English this which I have said.

Derived terms [edit]

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

See also [edit]

Quotations [edit]

Statistics [edit]

External links [edit]

Anagrams [edit]

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