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Britain

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Britain¹

  • /ˈbɹɪt.ən/ UK
  • [ˈbɹɪt.n̩] UK
  • /ˈbɹɪt.ən/ US
  • [ˈbɹɪɾ.ᵊn̩] US
  • [ˈbɹɪʔ.ᵊn̩] US

Sounds like Briton · Rhymes with -ɪtən

Where it comes from

From Middle English Britayne, 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 Britannia and Brittany. More at Britto.

proper noun Britains · Brittain

  1. broadly, countable, uncountable The United Kingdom, a kingdom and country in Northern Europe including the island of Great Britain as well as Northern Ireland on the northeastern portion of the island of Ireland. With the eclipse of Empire, and the emergence of America and Russia, it was inevitable that we would lose comparative power and influence—and to be sure we have been in relative economic decline since the middle of the nineteenth century (when we were still producing two thirds of the world's energy
  2. countable, uncountable Great Britain, a large island (sometimes also including some of the surrounding smaller islands) off the north-west coast of Western Europe, made up of England, Scotland, and Wales; especially (but not exclusively) during antiquity.

    Similar: Gramarye

  3. countable, uncountable England, Scotland and Wales in combination.
  4. countable, obsolete, uncountable Brittany.
  5. countable, in plural, uncountable The British Isles.
  6. countable, historical, uncountable The British state and its dominions and holdings; the British Empire.
  7. countable, in plural, uncountable The British Empire. The name of 'Britain' […] ought to answer every purpose, or if that be thought too condensed, it may be pluralized into ‘The Britains’.

Britain²

  • /ˈbɹɪt.ən/ UK
  • [ˈbɹɪt.n̩] UK
  • /ˈbɹɪt.ən/ US
  • [ˈbɹɪɾ.ᵊn̩] US
  • [ˈbɹɪʔ.ᵊn̩] US

Sounds like Briton · Rhymes with -ɪtən

Where it comes from

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

noun Britains · Brittain

  1. archaic, historical An ancient Briton. The Britains’ struggles with the Scots and Picts [...] led to the Britains asking the Romans for help in constructing a great wall.

adjective more Britain · most Britain · Brittain

  1. obsolete Briton; British. [M]ightie Albion, father of the bold / And warlike people which the Britaine Iſlands hold.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: united kingdom, great britain, uk, british, brit, english, anglia, briton, england, breton, kingdom, britannia, britannica, brittany, super, eng

Translations

Every language

name island — see also Great Britain, British Isles

EspañolBritania
한국어브리튼 Beuriteun
日本語ブリテン Buriten
中文不列顛 /不列颠 Bùlièdiān
हिन्दीब्रिटेन briṭen, बरतानिया bartāniyā
PortuguêsBretanha
DeutschBritannien
ΕλληνικάΒρετανία Vretanía
RomânăBritania
РусскийБрита́ния Británija
Tiếng Việtđảo Anh, Anh
العربيةبِرِيطانِيَا birīṭāniyā
עבריתבְּרִיטַנְיָה británya

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MLA

"Britain." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/britain. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

Britain. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/britain

Chicago

"Britain." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/britain.

BibTeX
@misc{britain_2026,
  title = {Britain},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/britain},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}