British

The word British is an adjective referring in various ways to the United Kingdom, or the island of Great Britain, and its people.

Geography
  • British Isles, an archipelago in north-western Europe
  • British Islands, a legal term describing the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, collectively
  • British Commonwealth, an organisation of member-states mostly from the former British Empire
  • British Columbia, a province of Canada
People
  • British people, Britons, or Brits, subjects of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, one of the Channel Islands, or of one of the British overseas territories, and their descendants
  • Britons (historical), ancient Celtic inhabitants of the island of Great Britain south of the Firth of Forth.
  • British nationality law, which governs the citizens of the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and the British Crown dependencies
Language
  • British English, the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom
  • British language (Celtic), also known as Brythonic, the ancient Celtic language once spoken in Britain, ancestral to Welsh, Cornish and Breton
History
  • British Raj, rule of India in the late 19th Century and early 20th Century
  • British Empire (historical), the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom when it was an imperial power
Other
  • British cuisine
  • British Airways, flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom

Famous quotes containing the word british:

    “Much of what passes for quality on British television is no more than a reflection of the narrow elite which controls it and has always thought that its tastes were synonymous with quality.”
    —Rupert Murdoch (b. 1931)

    “It’s simple: either you have discipline or you haven’t.”
    —Edmund H. North, British screenwriter, and Lewis Gilbert. Captain Shepard (Kenneth More)

    “Give a scientist a problem and he will probably provide a solution; historians and sociologists, by contrast, can offer only opinions. Ask a dozen chemists the composition of an organic compound such as methane, and within a short time all twelve will have come up with the same solution of CH4. Ask, however, a dozen economists or sociologists to provide policies to reduce unemployment or the level of crime and twelve widely differing opinions are likely to be offered.”
    —Derek Gjertsen, British scientist, author. Science and Philosophy: Past and Present, ch. 3, Penguin (1989)