British

Meanings

Proper Noun

• The residents or inhabitants of Great Britain.
• The citizens or inhabitants of the United Kingdom.
• The ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain before the Anglo-Saxon invasion.
• The Celtic language of the ancient Britons; Common Brittonic.
• The British English language.

Adjective

• Of Britain.
• Of the United Kingdom.
• Of the Commonwealth of Nations, or the British Empire.
• Of the ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain; Brythonic.
• Of the British Isles.
• Of British English.

Origin

• From Old English Bryttisċ ("Britons").
• 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 '', Brittisshe occean 1398, the Britishe nacion'' 1548).
• As a noun, referring to the British people, British soldiers, etc. from ca. 1600.