Great Britain

English

Etymology

Of the island of Great Britain, to disambiguate Britain from Brittany, i.e. Lesser Britain. From Middle English Great Brittaigne, Grete Britaigne, Grete breteygne, grete Bretayne, grete breteyne, paralleling Anglo-Norman Grande Brettayne and c. 12th-century Medieval Latin Britannia Maior. Equivalent to Great +‎ Britain.

King James VI and I in 1604 proclaimed himself “King of Great Britain, France and Ireland”.

Pronunciation

  • Audio (Southern England):(file)

Proper noun

Great Britain

  2. 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.
    Synonyms: GB, (literary, Arthurian, rare) Gramarye
    Holonym: British Isles
  4. (loosely) The United Kingdom, a kingdom and country in Northern Europe including the island of as well as Northern Ireland on the northeastern portion of the island of Ireland.
  6. (historical) A former kingdom existing on the island of from 1707 to 1801, consisting of England, Scotland and Wales; it was in personal union with the Kingdom of Ireland and later merged with it. Official name: Kingdom of Great Britain.
  7. (politics, law) England, Scotland and Wales in combination, to the exclusion of Northern Ireland.
  8. (sports) The United Kingdom national team (often inclusive of Northern Ireland).
    • 2012, “'Apologise' for Die Stem”, in Sport24‎[1], South Africa:
      The manager of the London Cup hockey tournament must apologise for playing apartheid anthem "Die Stem" before South Africa's clash with Great Britain, SA Hockey Association chief executive Marissa Langeni said on Wednesday.
    • 2012, Chris Chance, “Great Britain apologizes to South Africa for playing apartheid anthem before field hockey game”, in Yahoo! Sports‎[2]:
      Great Britain apologizes to South Africa for playing apartheid anthem before field hockey game

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Further reading

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