Wiktionary

British

See also: british

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Middle English Brittish, from Old English Brettisċ.[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

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Noun

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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

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Proper noun

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British

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

Translations

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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

Adjective

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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. (historical) Of the ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain; Brythonic.
  5. (historical) Of the British Isles.
  6. Of British English.

Derived terms

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Translations

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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

References

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  1. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “British”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Further reading

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