English

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[edit] English

Most common English words: hope « er « children « #319: English » sure » indeed » leave

[edit] Etymology

From Old English Englisc < Engle (the Angles), a Germanic tribe).

[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Adjective

English (comparative more English, superlative most English)

Positive
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 the avoirdupois system of measure.
    an English ton

[edit] Translations

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.

[edit] Proper noun

Singular
English

Plural
-

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 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.

[edit] Noun

Singular
English

Plural
uncountable

English (uncountable)

  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.

[edit] Translations

[edit] Verb

Infinitive
to English

Third person singular
Englishes

Simple past
Englished

Past participle
Englished

Present participle
Englishing

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

  1. (archaic) To 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

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Anagrams