British

See also: british

English

Alternative forms

• Brittish (archaic)

Etymology

From Middle English Brittish, from Old English Brettisċ. The spelling with single -t- appears in the 13th century under the influence of Medieval Latin Britannicus, but spelling with -tt- persists alongside -t- during the 13th to at least 18th 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

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈbɹɪtɪʃ/

• Audio (Received Pronunciation):

  (file)

• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈbɹɪtɪʃ/, [ˈbɹɪɾɪʃ]

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• (Cockney, Estuary English) IPA^(key): [ˈbɹɪʔɪʃ]
• Rhymes: -ɪtɪʃ
• Hyphenation: Brit‧ish

Noun

British pl (plural only) (usually with definite article)

1. The residents or inhabitants of Great Britain.

   Synonyms: Britons, (informal) Brits

2. The citizens or inhabitants of the United Kingdom.
3. (history) The earlier inhabitants of southern Britain, prior to the Anglo-Saxon invasion and subsequent migrations.

   Synonym: Britons

4. (obsolete) Synonym of Welsh: the Welsh people.

Translations

citizens or inhabitants of Britain

• Afrikaans: Britte pl
• Arabic: بِرِيطَانِيّ (ar) m (biriṭāniyy), بِرِيطَانِيَّة f (biriṭāniyya)
• Burmese: ဗြိတိလျှ (bri.ti.hlya.)
• Catalan: britànics (ca) m pl
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 英國人 / 英国人 (jing¹ gwok³ jan³)

  Mandarin: 英國人 / 英国人 (zh) (yīngguórén)

• Czech: Britové (cs) m pl
• Danish: brite c
• Dutch: Brit (nl) m, Britse (nl) f
• Estonian: britt (et)
• Faroese: breti m
• Finnish: britit (fi)
• French: Britannique (fr) m or f
• Galician: británicos m pl
• Georgian: ბრიტანელი (briṭaneli)
• German: Briten (de) pl, Brite (de) m, Britin (de) f
• Greek: Βρετανός (el) m (Vretanós), Βρετανή (el) f (Vretaní)
• Hindi: ब्रिटिश (hi) (briṭiś), अंग्रेज़ी (hi) (aṅgrezī)
• Hungarian: brit (hu), nagy-britanniai
• Icelandic: Breti m
• Indonesian: Bangsa Inggris
• Italian: britannici (it) m pl
• Japanese: イギリス人 (ja) (イギリスじん, igirisujin), 英国人 (ja) (えいこくじん, eikokujin)
• Javanese: Bangsa Inggeris
• Lithuanian: britas (lt) m, britė (lt) f
• Macedonian: Британци pl (Britanci)
• Marathi: ब्रिटिश (briṭiś)
• Navajo: Óola Bichʼahní dineʼé
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: brite (no) m

  Nynorsk: brite m

• Persian: بریتانیایی (beritâniyâyi)
• Polish: Brytyjczycy pl
• Portuguese: britânicos m pl
• Romanian: britanic (ro) m, britanici m pl
• Russian: брита́нец (ru) m (británec), брита́нка (ru) f (británka), брита́нцы (ru) m pl (británcy)
• Scottish Gaelic: Breatannaich m
• Slovak: Brit m
• Slovene: Británec m, Británka f
• Spanish: británicos (es) m pl
• Swedish: britt (sv) c, brittiska (sv) c
• Turkish: İngiliz (tr)
• Urdu: انگریز (aṅgrez)

the citizens or inhabitants of the UK

• Afrikaans: Britte pl
• Burmese: ဗြိတိလျှ (bri.ti.hlya.)
• Catalan: britànics (ca) m pl
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 英國人 / 英国人 (zh) (yīngguórén)

• Czech: Britové (cs) m pl
• Danish: brite c
• Dutch: Brit (nl) m, Britse (nl) f
• Estonian: britt (et)
• Faroese: breti m
• Finnish: britit (fi)
• French: Britannique (fr) m or f
• Georgian: ბრიტანელი (briṭaneli)
• German: Briten (de) pl, Brite (de) m, Britin (de) f
• Greek: Βρετανός (el) m (Vretanós), Βρετανή (el) f (Vretaní)
• Hebrew: בריטי (he) m (briti)
• Hindi: अंग्रेज़ m (aṅgrez), अंग्रेज़िन f (aṅgrezin), ब्रिटिश (hi) (briṭiś)
• Hungarian: brit (hu), egyesült királysági, egyesült királyságbeli
• Indonesian: Orang Inggris
• Italian: britannici (it) m pl
• Japanese: イギリス人 (ja) (イギリスじん, igirisujin), 英国人 (ja) (えいこくじん, eikokujin)
• Javanese: Wong Inggeris
• Lithuanian: britas (lt) m, britė (lt) f
• Luxembourgish: Britte m, Brittin f
• Macedonian: Британци pl (Britanci)
• Marathi: ब्रिटिश (briṭiś)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: brite (no) m

  Nynorsk: brite m

• Polish: Brytyjczycy pl
• Portuguese: britânicos m pl
• Romanian: britanic (ro) m, britanic (ro) m pl
• Russian: брита́нец (ru) m (británec), брита́нка (ru) f (británka), брита́нцы (ru) m pl (británcy)
• Scottish Gaelic: Breatannaich m
• Slovak: Brit m
• Spanish: británicos (es) m pl, reinounidenses m pl or f pl
• Swedish: britt (sv) c, brittiska (sv) c
• Turkish: İngiliz (tr)

history: ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain

• Breton: Brezhon (br)
• Cornish: Brython
• Czech: Britonové m pl
• Danish: brite c
• Estonian: britt (et)
• Finnish: britit (fi), brittiläiset (fi)
• Hungarian: brit (hu)
• Indonesian: Orang Inggris Kuno, Orang Pribumi Inggris
• Old English: Bryttas, Bryttwealas, Bryttwalas
• Portuguese: britões m pl (Portugal), bretões m pl (Brazil)
• Romanian: britonic m, britonici m pl
• Russian: бритт (ru) m (britt), бри́ттка f (bríttka), бри́тты (ru) m pl (brítty)
• Scottish Gaelic: Breatannaich m
• Spanish: britanos (es) m pl
• Welsh: Brython

Proper noun

British

1. The Celtic language of the ancient Britons; Common Brittonic.
2. (chiefly US) The British English language.

Translations

the British English language

• Afrikaans: Britse Engels
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 英國英語 / 英国英语 (yīngguóyǔ)

• Danish: britisk engelsk
• Dutch: Brits-Engels (nl) n
• Finnish: britannianenglanti
• French: anglais britannique (fr) m
• German: Britisches Englisch n
• Greek: αγγλικά (el) n pl (angliká)
• Hungarian: brit (hu), brit angol (hu)
• Indonesian: Bahasa Inggris
• Japanese: イギリス英語 (Igirisu eigo), 英英語 (えいえいご, eieigo) or 英々語 (えいえいご, eieigo)
• Javanese: Basa Inggeris
• Macedonian: британски англиски m (britanski angliski)
• Marathi: ब्रिटिश इंग्रजी (briṭiś iṅgrajī), ब्रिटिश इंग्लिश (briṭiś iṅgliś)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: britisk engelsk m

  Nynorsk: britisk engelsk m

• Portuguese: inglês britânico (pt)
• Romanian: engleză britanică f
• Russian: бри́танский а́нглийский m (brítanskij ánglijskij)
• Spanish: inglés británico
• Swedish: brittisk engelska (sv) c
• Turkish: İngiliz İngilizcesi (tr)
• Ukrainian: Британська англійська мова f (Brytansʹka anhlijsʹka mova)
• Welsh: Saesneg Prydain m

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Hebrew: ^{(please verify)} בריטים m pl (brit'im), ^{(please verify)} בריטיות f pl (brit'iot)
• Maltese: ^{(please verify)} Brittaniku m, ^{(please verify)} Brittanika f, ^{(please verify)} Brittaniċi pl
• Thai: ^{(please verify)} คนอังกฤษ (kon ang-grìt)

Adjective

British (comparative more British, superlative most British)

1. Of Britain.
2. Of the United Kingdom.
3. Of the Commonwealth of Nations, or the British Empire.
4. (informal, proscribed) Of England; English.
5. (historical) Of the ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain; Brythonic.
6. (historical) Of the British Isles.
7. Of British English.

Derived terms

• best of British luck
• black British
• Black British
• British America
• British Antarctic Territory
• British Columbia
• Britisher
• Britishification
• Britishify
• Britishish
• British Islands
• British Isles
• Britishly
• British Mandate
• British North America
• British Open
• British Raj
• British Togoland
• familial British dementia
• I'm British

Translations

of Britain

• Afrikaans: Brits
• Albanian: britanik (sq)
• Arabic: بِرِيطَانِيّ (ar) (biriṭāniyy), بَرِيطَانِيّ (ar) (barīṭāniyy)
• Armenian: բրիտանական (britanakan)
• Assamese: ব্ৰিটিছ (britis), বিলাতী (bilati)
• Asturian: británicu (ast)
• Azerbaijani: britaniyalı, britaniya
• Belarusian: брыта́нскі (brytánski)
• Bengali: ব্রিটিশ (bn) (briṭiś)
• Bulgarian: брита́нски (británski)
• Burmese: ဗြိတိသျှ (bri.ti.hsya.)
• Catalan: britànic (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 英國的 / 英国的 (zh) (Yīngguó de)

• Czech: britský (cs)
• Danish: britisk
• Dutch: Brits (nl)
• Esperanto: brita (eo)
• Estonian: briti
• Faroese: bretskur
• Finnish: brittiläinen (fi), britti-, britannialainen
• French: britannique (fr) m or f
• Georgian: ბრიტანული (briṭanuli)
• German: britisch (de), großbritannisch (de)
• Greek: βρετανικός (el) m (vretanikós)
• Hebrew: בְּרִיטִי (he) (briti)
• Hindi: अंग्रेज़ी (hi) (aṅgrezī), ब्रिटिश (hi) (briṭiś)
• Hungarian: brit (hu)
• Icelandic: breskur (is)
• Indonesian: Inggris (id)
• Irish: Briotanach
• Italian: britannico (it)
• Japanese: イギリスの (ja) (Igirisu no), 英国の (ja) (Eikoku no)
• Kazakh: британдық (britandyq), британиялық (britaniälyq)
• Khmer: ប៊្រីតថេន (priittheen)
• Korean: 영국의 (ko) (yeonggug-ui)
• Kyrgyz: британиялык (britaniyalık)
• Latin: Britanniae
• Latvian: britu, britisks
• Lithuanian: britų, britiškas
• Luxembourgish: brittesch
• Macedonian: британски (britanski)
• Maori: a Peretānia, o Peretānia
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: britisk

  Nynorsk: britisk

• Occitan: britanic
• Persian: بِریتانِیایی (beritâniyâyi)
• Polish: brytyjski (pl)
• Portuguese: britânico (pt)
• Romanian: britanic (ro)
• Russian: брита́нский (ru) (británskij)
• Scottish Gaelic: Breatannach
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: британски

  Roman: britanski (sh)

• Slovak: britský (sk)
• Slovene: británski (sl)
• Spanish: británico (es)
• Swedish: brittisk (sv)
• Tajik: британӣ (britani)
• Thai: บริเตน (brì-dteen)
• Turkish: İngiliz (tr)
• Ukrainian: брита́нський (uk) (brytánsʹkyj)
• Urdu: بَرْطانْوِی (bartānvī), بِرْٹِش (birṭiś), اَن٘گْریزی (ur) (aṅgrezī)
• Uyghur: برىتانىيىلىك (britaniyilik), برىتانىيە (britaniye)
• Uzbek: britaniyalik, britaniya
• Vietnamese: Anh (vi), đảo Anh (vi)
• Welsh: Prydeinig (cy)
• Yiddish: בריטיש (british)

colloquial: of the UK

• Afrikaans: Brits
• Armenian: բրիտանական (britanakan)
• Asturian: británicu (ast)
• Catalan: britànic (ca)
• Czech: britský (cs)
• Dutch: Brits (nl)
• Faroese: bretskur
• Finnish: brittiläinen (fi), britti-, englantilainen (fi), englantilais- (fi), britannialainen
• Georgian: ბრიტანული (briṭanuli)
• German: britisch (de)
• Hindi: ब्रिटिश (hi) (briṭiś), अंग्रेज़ी (hi) (aṅgrezī)
• Hungarian: brit (hu), egyesült királysági, egyesült királyságbeli
• Japanese: イギリスの (ja) (Igirisu no), 英国の (ja) (Eikoku no)
• Korean: 영국의 (ko) (yeonggug-ui)
• Luxembourgish: brittesch
• Macedonian: британски (britanski)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: britisk

  Nynorsk: britisk

• Persian: بریتانیایی (beritâniyâyi)
• Polish: brytyjski (pl)
• Portuguese: britânico (pt)
• Romanian: britanic (ro)
• Russian: брита́нский (ru) (británskij)
• Scottish Gaelic: Breatannach
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: британски

  Roman: britanski (sh)

• Spanish: británico (es), reinounidense
• Swedish: brittisk (sv)
• Tajik: британӣ (britani)
• Vietnamese: Anh (vi)
• Welsh: Prydeinig (cy)

history: of the ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain

• Breton: please add this translation if you can
• Cornish: brythonik
• Czech: britonský
• Finnish: brittiläinen (fi), britti-
• Hungarian: brit (hu)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: britisk

  Nynorsk: britisk

• Old English: Bryttisc Brytwylisc
• Portuguese: britônico (pt) m
• Romanian: britonic
• Scottish Gaelic: Breatannach
• Spanish: britano (es)
• Welsh: Brythonig

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Hebrew: ^{(please verify)} בריטי (he) m (brit'i), ^{(please verify)} בריטית f (brit'it)

Further reading

• James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “British, a. (sb.)”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), volume I (A–B), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, pages 1,113–1,114.