British definition

English

Alternative forms

• Brittish (archaic)

Etymology

From Old English Bryttisċ (“Britons”).^[1] 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 17th 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

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɹɪt.ɪʃ/
  • (US, Canada) IPA^(key): [ˈbɹɪɾ.ɪʃ]
  • (Cockney, Estuary English) IPA^(key): [ˈbɹɪ.ʔɪʃ]

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: Brit‧ish

Proper noun

British

1. (with article, collective) The residents or inhabitants of Great Britain.

   • Great Britain definition

     The island (and sometimes including some of the surrounding smaller islands) off the north-west coast of Europe made up of England, Scotland, and Wales. Abbreviation: GB. (1 of 5 Great Britain definitions)
2. (with article, collective) The citizens or inhabitants of the United Kingdom.

   • United Kingdom definition

     A kingdom and sovereign state in Western Europe comprising the four countries of England, Scotland and Wales in the island of Great Britain, and Northern Ireland in the island of Ireland. Since 1922. (1 of 4 United Kingdom definitions)
3. (historical) The ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain before the Anglo-Saxon invasion.

   Synonym: Britons

   • Anglo-Saxon definition

     The inflected ancestor language of modern English, also called Old English, spoken in Britain from about 400 AD to 1100 AD.

   • Britons definition

     plural of Briton
4. The Celtic language of the ancient Britons; Common Brittonic.

   • Celtic definition

     A branch of the Indo-European languages that was spread widely over western and central Europe in the pre-Christian era. (1 of 2 Celtic definitions)
5. (chiefly US) The British English language.

   • British English definition

     The English language as written and spoken in the United Kingdom (in contrast with other places, particularly other countries where English is predominant or at least an important language)

Translations

Adjective

British (comparative more British, superlative most British)

1. Of Britain.

   • Britain definition

     The island of Great Britain, consisting of England, Scotland and Wales. (1 of 6 Britain definitions)
2. Of the United Kingdom.
3. Of the Commonwealth of Nations, or the British Empire.

   • Commonwealth Of Nations definition

     An association of independent, sovereign states most of which formerly constituted the British Empire.

   • British Empire definition

     The United Kingdom and its dependencies. It became the Commonwealth of Nations following the independence of most of its dependencies.
4. (historical) Of the ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain; Brythonic.

   • Brythonic definition

     A Celtic language.
5. (historical) Of the British Isles.

   • British Isles definition

     A group of islands off the northwest coast of mainland Europe, including Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Wight, the Isles of Scilly, the Isle of Man, the Outer Hebrides, the Inner Hebrides, the Orkney Islands, the Shetland Islands and many other smaller islands. Use may include the Channel Islands, although these are physically closer to mainland Europe.
6. Of British English.

Translations

Derived terms

• British Antarctic Territory
• British Columbia
• British Isles
• Britishification
• Britishify
• Britishish
• Britishly

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:British.

References