Britain

This article deals with the history of the word Britain. For clarification of terminology and an overview of articles about Britain and Ireland see British Isles (terminology).

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The word Britain is used to refer to

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• the island of Great Britain which consists of the nations of England, Scotland and Wales.
• the United Kingdom (U.K.)
• sometimes the Roman province called "Britain" or "Britannia"

The word British generally means belonging to or associated with Britain in one of the first two senses above (i.e. the United Kingdom or the island of Great Britain). However, the term has a range of related usages (see British).

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Etymologically, these words are closely related to Brittany, the name of the western French peninsula, and its adjective Breton.

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Britain: Earliest attested references ►