Britain
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: /ˈbɹɪ.tən/
- US IPA: /ˈbɹɪ.tn̩/, /ˈbɹɪ.dn̩/
- Rhymes: -ɪtən
Origin 1
Old English Breoton, Bryten etc., from Latin Britannia; later reinforced by Anglo-Norman Britaine, Old French Bretaigne, from Latin Brittannia, variant of Britannia, from Britannī (see Etymology 2, below).
Full definition of Britain
Proper noun
Britain
(plural Britains)- The island of Great Britain, consisting of England, Scotland and Wales. from 10th c.
- (now historical) Brittany. from 13th c.
- (now historical) The United Kingdom; the British state and its dominions and holdings; the British Empire. from 17th c.
- (in the plural) The British Empire. from 19th c.
- 1874, The Times, 14 July 1874:The name of 'Britain' ... ought to answer every purpose, or if that be thought too condensed, it may be pluralized into ‘The Britains’.
Origin 2
From Latin Britannus (adjective and noun, plural Britannī), apparently from Brythonic (compare Old Welsh Priten).
Noun
Britain
(plural Britains)Adjective
Britain
- (obsolete) Briton; British. 16th-18th c.
- 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, IV.11:mightie Albion, father of the bold
And warlike people which the Britaine Islands hold ….