Britain - Earliest attested references

The word Britain is an informal term used to refer to; the island of Great Britain which consists of the nations of England, Scotland and Wales. the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland or UK, 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, a ...

Including:

• Britain - Earliest attested references
• Britain - Etymology
• Britain - Britain and Brittany
• Britain - Historical evolution of the term Britain
• Britain - Modern use of the term 'British'
• Britain - Brutus of Troy
• Britain - Sources and further reading

Read more here: » Britain: Encyclopedia - Britain

The etymology of the name Britain is thought to derive from a Celtic word, Pritani, "painted people/men", a reference to the inhabitants of the islands' use of body-paint and tattoos. If this is true, there is an interesting parallel with the name Pict, connected with a Latin word of the same meaning. The modern Welsh name for Britain is Prydain. The Q-Celtic form was Cruithin, showing that the Common Celtic singular form was qr[ui]tanos. The root is presumably that of the modern G ...

See also:

Britain, Britain - Earliest attested references, Britain - Etymology, Britain - Britain and Brittany, Britain - Historical evolution of the term Britain, Britain - Modern use of the term 'British', Britain - Brutus of Troy, Britain - Sources and further reading

Read more here: » Britain: Encyclopedia II - Britain - Etymology

The modern use of the term 'British' is as an adjective to describe someone or something from the United Kingdom. It is officially used as the term to describe the nationality of a citizen of the United Kingdom. Irish Nationalists may reject this term as offensive, as it is used to describe people from Northern Ireland. Many people from England, Scotland and Wales also dislike the term, preferring to d ...

See also:

Britain, Britain - Earliest attested references, Britain - Etymology, Britain - Britain and Brittany, Britain - Historical evolution of the term Britain, Britain - Modern use of the term 'British', Britain - Brutus of Troy, Britain - Sources and further reading

Read more here: » Britain: Encyclopedia II - Britain - Modern use of the term 'British'

The original reference seems to have been to the territory in which the Brythonic languages were spoken, which more or less coincided with the Roman province of Britannia, an area equivalent to modern England, Wales and southern Scotland. In the Early Middle Ages speakers of a Brythonic language which later evolved into Breton migrated from Cornwall to Armorica, Western France, possibly because of pressure from Saxon invasions. This is why different forms of the same name apply to insular Britain and continental Brittany. In French the similarity is even more obvi ...

See also:

Britain, Britain - Earliest attested references, Britain - Etymology, Britain - Britain and Brittany, Britain - Historical evolution of the term Britain, Britain - Modern use of the term 'British', Britain - Brutus of Troy, Britain - Sources and further reading

Read more here: » Britain: Encyclopedia II - Britain - Britain and Brittany

The kingdoms established on the island of Great Britain were perceived to be dominant over the whole archipelago, which thus came to be known as the British Isles. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England, the queen's astrologer and alchemist, John Dee, wrote mystical volumes predicting a British Empire and using the terms Great Britain and Britannia. After Elizabeth's death in 1603 the kingdoms shared one King, James VI of Scotland and I of England. On 20 October 1604 he proclaimed himself "King of Great Brittai ...

See also:

Britain, Britain - Earliest attested references, Britain - Etymology, Britain - Britain and Brittany, Britain - Historical evolution of the term Britain, Britain - Modern use of the term 'British', Britain - Brutus of Troy, Britain - Sources and further reading

Read more here: » Britain: Encyclopedia II - Britain - Historical evolution of the term Britain