British
See also: british
English
Alternative forms
- Brittish (archaic)
Etymology
In Old English as Bryttisc (“Britons”) . The spelling with single -t- appears in the 13th century under the influence of Latin Britannia, 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) IPA(key): [ˈbɹɪɾ.ɪʃ]
- (Cockney, Estuary English) IPA(key): [ˈbɹɪ.ʔɪʃ]
Audio (UK) (file) Audio (US) (file)
Proper noun
British
- With the, the residents or inhabitants of Great Britain collectively.
- With the, the citizens or inhabitants of the United Kingdom collectively.
- (historical) The ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain before the Anglo-Saxon invasion, also called ancient Britons.
- The Celtic language of the ancient Britons; Common Brittonic.
- The British English language.
Translations
citizens or inhabitants of Britain
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the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
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history: ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
the British English language
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- 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 Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Adjective
British (comparative more British, superlative most British)
- Of Britain
- Of the United Kingdom.
- Of the Commonwealth of Nations, or the British Empire.
- (historical) Of the ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain; Brythonic.
- (historical) Of the British Isles.
- Of British English.
Translations
of Britain
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colloquial: of the UK
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history: of the ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
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- 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 Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Quotations
- For quotations of use of this term, see Citations:British.
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