Britain

English

Pronunciation

(UK) IPA^(key): /ˈbɹɪt.ən/, [ˈbɹɪt.n̩]
Audio (UK) (file)
(US) IPA^(key): /ˈbɹɪt.ən/, [ˈbɹɪɾ.ᵊn̩], [ˈbɹɪʔ.ᵊn̩]
Rhymes: -ɪtən
Hyphenation: Brit‧ain
Homophone: Briton

Etymology 1

From Middle English Breteyn, from Anglo-Norman Bretaigne, Bretaine, from Latin Brittannia, variant of Latin Britannia, from Britannī; reinforced by native Old English Breten, from the same Latin source. Ultimately from Proto-Brythonic *Prɨdėn (“Britain”) from *Pritanī (also compare *Prɨdɨn (“Picts”) from *Pritenī), attested to in Ancient Greek as Πρεττανική (Prettanikḗ), compare Welsh Prydain. Doublet of Brittany. More at Britto.

Proper noun

Britain (plural Britains)

(loosely) The United Kingdom.
The island of Great Britain, consisting of England, Scotland and Wales, especially during antiquity. [from 10th c.]
(historical) Brittany. [from 13th c.]
(in the plural) The British Isles.
(historical) 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’.

Synonyms

(island): Gramarye

Related terms

Breton
British
Briton, Britton
Britannia
Brittany
Battle of Britain
Broken Britain

Descendants

→ Hawaiian: Pelekāne
→ Tokelauan: Peletānia

Translations

island — See also translations at Great Britain,‎ British Isles

Albanian: Britania f
Amharic: ብሪታንያ (bəritanya)
Arabic: بِرِيطانِيَا‎ (ar) f (birīṭāniyā)
Armenian: Բրիտանիա (Britania)
Azerbaijani: Britaniya
Belarusian: Брыта́нія f (Brytánija)
Bengali: ব্রিটেন (briṭen), বিলাত (bn) (bilat)
Bulgarian: Брита́ния f (Británija)
Burmese: ဘိလပ် (my) (bhi.lap), ဗြိတိန် (bri.tin)
Catalan: Gran Bretanya (ca) f (only full name is used for the island)
Chinese:
Cantonese: 不列顛, 不列颠 (bat¹ lit⁶ din¹)
Mandarin: 不列顛／不列颠 (zh) (Bùlièdiān)
Czech: Británie (cs) f
Danish: Storbritannien (da) (only full name is used for the island)
Dutch: Brittannië (nl) n
Esperanto: Britio
Estonian: Britannia (et)
Faroese: Bretland n
Finnish: Britannia (fi)
French: Grande-Bretagne (fr) f (only full name is used for the island)
Georgian: ბრიტანეთი (briṭaneti)
German: Britannien (de) n
Greek: Βρετανία (el) f (Vretanía)
Ancient: Βρεττανία f (Brettanía)
Hebrew: בְּרִיטַנְיָה‎ (he) f (británya)
Hindi: ब्रिटेन (hi) m (briṭen)
Hungarian: Britannia (hu)
Icelandic: Bretland (is) n
Indonesian: Britania (id)
Irish: an Bhreatain f
Italian: Gran Bretagna (it) f (only full name is used for the island)
Japanese: ブリテン (Buriten)
Kazakh: Британия (Britaniä)
Khmer: ប៊្រីតថេន (priittheen)
Korean: 브리튼 (Beuriteun), 브리텐 (beuriten) (North Korea)
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: ^{(please verify)} بەریتانیا‎ (berîtanya)
Northern Kurdish: Brîtanya (ku)
Kyrgyz: Британия (Britaniya)
Lao: ບໍລິເຕນ (bǭ li tēn), ບຣິເຕນໃຫຍ່ (ba ri tēn nyai)
Latin: Britannia (la) f
Latvian: Britānija f
Lithuanian: Britanija f
Macedonian: Брита́нија f (Británija)
Malay: Britania
Maltese: Brittanja f
Maori: Peretānia, Piritini
Mongolian:
Cyrillic: Британи (Britani)
Occitan: Grand Bretanha (oc) f (only full name is used for the island)
Old English: Breten f
Pashto: برتانيه‎ (ps) f (bartānyá), برطانيه‎ f (bartānya), بريتانيا‎ f (britāniyã)
Persian: بریتانیا‎ (fa) (beritâniyâ), برطانیه‎ (beretâniye) (obsolete)
Polish: Brytania (pl) f
Portuguese: Bretanha (pt) f
Rapa Nui: Peretane
Romanian: Britania (ro) f
Russian: Брита́ния (ru) f (Británija)
Scots: Breetain
Scottish Gaelic: Breatainn f
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: Брѝта̄нија f
Roman: Brìtānija (sh) f
Sicilian: Granni Britagna f, Britagna Granni f
Sinhalese: බ්‍රිතාන්‍ය (britānya)
Slovak: Británia f
Slovene: Británija f
Spanish: Gran Bretaña (es) f (only full name is used for the island)
Tagalog: Bretanya
Tajik: Британия (tg) (Britaniya), Бритониё (Britoniyo)
Telugu: బ్రిటన్ (briṭan)
Thai: บริเตน (brì-dteen)
Turkish: Britanya (tr)
Turkmen: Britaniýa
Ukrainian: Брита́нія f (Brytánija)
Urdu: برطانیہ‎ m (bartānia)
Uyghur: برىتانىيە‎ (britaniye)
Uzbek: Britaniya
Vietnamese: đảo Anh (vi), Anh (vi)
Welsh: Prydain (cy)

United Kingdom — see United Kingdom

Brittany — see Brittany

Etymology 2

From Latin Britannus (adjective and noun, plural Britannī), apparently from Brythonic (compare Old Welsh Priten).

Noun