I. ˈi]ŋglish, -lēsh also ]ŋl- sometimes ˈe] adjective
Usage: usually capitalized
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English englisc, from Engle, plural, Angles + -isc -ish
1. : of or from England : of the kind or style prevalent in England
English earth
fine English tailoring
English customs
— often used in English-speaking areas outside the British isles to identify that one of two or more kinds of plant or animal sharing a common vernacular to which the vernacular is applied in England without regard to actual prevalence or origin
English catchfly
English cherry wood
2. : of, relating to, or characteristic of the English language
beauties of English expression
English studies
a literal English translation
vagaries of the English colloquial idiom
3. : british
II. noun
( -es ; see sense 2 )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English englisc, from englisc, adjective
1. capitalized
a. : the language of the people of England and the United States and most of the British colonies and dominions — see anglo-saxon , middle english , old english , indo-european languages table
b. : a particular variety of English (as that characteristic of a nation, locality, class of people, or an individual) distinguished by peculiarities (as of pronunciation, vocabulary, idiom, syntax, or style)
speaking a beautiful precise English
the archaic English that often lingers in isolated communities
the comparative informality of American English
the English of the gutter
c. : English language, literature, or composition or a part thereof regarded as a field of study or teaching
most colleges require all freshmen to take a course in English
he found English a difficult subject
2. plural in construction , capitalized : the people of England ; especially : native Englishmen irrespective of residence
the chill formality of the English is no more than a caricaturist's generalization
the English and their tea are matched by the Swedes and their coffee
3. usually capitalized
a. : an English translation or rendering : the English equivalent (as of a foreign word)
tell me the English for gluteus
sometimes : crib , pony
b. : idiomatic or intelligible English ; often : the plain sense of something obscure, involved, technical, or pedantic
give me the English of it
— compare greek 2 c
4. often capitalized : an old size of type approximately 2 points larger than pica
5. usually capitalized : a spinning or rotary motion round the vertical axis given to a ball by striking it to the right or left of its center (as in pool) or by releasing it in such a way as to produce this rotary motion (as in bowling) — called also side
III. “, chiefly in pres part -ləsh\ verb
( -ed/-ing/-es )
Usage: often capitalized
Etymology: Middle English englishen, from english, adjective & noun
transitive verb
1. : to translate into English
regretfully spent his holiday englishing 500 lines of Virgil
2. obsolete : to interpret or set forth plainly
those gracious acts … may be Englished, more properly, acts of fear and dissimulation — John Milton
3. : to adopt into English : anglicize
our language expands chiefly by coining new words and englishing the words already in other languages
intransitive verb
: to be translatable into English
IV. adverb
Usage: usually capitalized
Etymology: english (I)
obsolete : englishly