/ ˈbrɪtɪʃ; NAmE / adjective
1.
( abbr. Br. ) connected with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland or the people who live there :
the British Government
He was born in France but his parents are British.
British-based / British-born / British-made
2.
the British noun [ pl. ] the people of the United Kingdom
► Brit·ish·ness noun [ U ]
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MORE ABOUT
the British
There is no singular noun which is commonly used to refer to a person from Britain. Instead the adjective British is used:
She's British.
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The British have a very odd sense of humour.
The adjective English refers only to people from England, not the rest of the United Kingdom.
The noun Briton is used mainly in newspapers:
The survivors of the avalanche included 12 Britons.
It also describes the early inhabitants of Britain:
the ancient Britons
. Brit is informal and can sound negative. Britisher is now very old-fashioned.
· note at Scottish
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WORD ORIGIN
Old English Brettisc relating to the ancient Britons , from Bret Briton , from Latin Britto , or its Celtic equivalent.