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:
“Semantically, taste is rich and confusing, its etymology as odd and interesting as that of “style.” But while style—deriving from the stylus or pointed rod which Roman scribes used to make marks on wax tablets—suggests activity, taste is more passive.... Etymologically, the word we use derives from the Old French, meaning touch or feel, a sense that is preserved in the current Italian word for a keyboard, tastiera.”
—Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)
“Wearing overalls on weekdays, painting somebody else’s house to earn money? You’re working class. Wearing overalls at weekends, painting your own house to save money? You’re middle class.”
—Lawrence Sutton, British prizewinner in competition in Sunday Correspondent (London)
“About the alleged condition of the property. Does it have to be intact?”
—Margaret Forster, British screenwriter, Peter Nichols, and Silvio Narizzano. Georgy (Lynn Redgrave)