Britannia

English

Etymology

From Latin Britannia

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɹɪˈtænɪə/

Proper noun

Britannia

1. A female personification of Britain or the United Kingdom.
   • 1740, James Thomson (lyrics), Thomas Arne (music), Rule, Britannia!

     Rule, Britannia! Britannia rule the waves / Britons never, never shall be slaves

2. (historical) A province of the Roman Empire covering most of the island of Britain.
3. A settlement in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Derived terms

• Britannia metal
• Britannia silver
• Cool Britannia

See also

• John Bull

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Finnish

Proper noun

Britannia

1. (ambiguously) United Kingdom, Great Britain, Britain (used to refer to the state of United Kingdom or its largest island consisting of England, Scotland and Wales)
2. Britain (Roman province)
3. Britannia (female personification of Britain)

Declension

Inflection of Britannia (Kotus type 12/kulkija, no gradation)
nominative		Britannia	—
genitive		Britannian	—
partitive		Britanniaa	—
illative		Britanniaan	—
		singular	plural
nominative		Britannia	—
accusative	nom.	Britannia	—
	gen.	Britannian
genitive		Britannian	—
partitive		Britanniaa	—
inessive		Britanniassa	—
elative		Britanniasta	—
illative		Britanniaan	—
adessive		Britannialla	—
ablative		Britannialta	—
allative		Britannialle	—
essive		Britanniana	—
translative		Britanniaksi	—
instructive		—	—
abessive		Britanniatta	—
comitative		—	—

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Latin

Alternative forms

• Britania
• Brittānia
• Brittannia

Etymology

As Brittānia from the 1st century BCE, from Ancient Greek Πρεττανία (Prettanía), used by Diodorus, earlier νῆσος (nêsos) Πρεττανική (Prettanikḗ) or Βρεττανίαι (Brettaníai), used by Pytheas (4th century BCE) of the entire archipelago now known as the British Isles.

The Ancient Greek name is ultimately from a Celtic ethnonym, reconstructed as early Brythonic *Pritani, perhaps from a Proto-Celtic *Kʷritanī, *Kʷritenī, whence Welsh Prydyn (“Picts”), Old Irish Cruthne, Cru(i)then-túath (“Picts”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷer- (“to do”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /briˈtan.ni.a/, [brɪˈtan.ni.a]

Proper noun

Britannia f (genitive Britanniae); first declension

1. Britain, ie. the country of the Britons
2. Great Britain

Inflection

First declension, with locative.

Case	Singular
nominative	Britannia
genitive	Britanniae
dative	Britanniae
accusative	Britanniam
ablative	Britanniā
vocative	Britannia
locative	Britanniae

Derived terms

• Britannia Minor (“Brittany”)

Related terms

• britannicus
• britannus
• Britannus, genitive singular and nominative plural Britannī
• Brītō / Brittō

Descendants

• Catalan: Bretanya
• Dutch: Brittannië
• English: Britannia, Britain, Brittany
  • →Japanese: ブリテン (Buriten)
  • →Korean: 브리튼 (Beuriteun)
  • →Mandarin: 不列顛 (Bùlièdiān)
• German: Britannien
• Italian: Bretagna
• Old French: Bretaigne
  • French: Bretagne
    • →Japanese: ブルターニュ (Burutānyu)
• Old Portuguese: Bretanna
  • Portuguese: Bretanha, Britânia
• Spanish: Bretaña