Terminology of the British Isles
The terminology of the British Isles refers to the words and phrases that are used to describe the (sometimes overlapping) geographical and political areas of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland and the smaller islands which surround them. The terms are often a source of confusion, partly owing to the similarity between some of the actual words used but also because they are often used loosely. Many of the words carry geographical and political connotations which are affected by the history of the islands.
The purpose of this article is to explain the meanings of and relationships among the terms in use; many of these classifications are contentious
.Summary
The use of terms depends on context; words and phrases can be grouped into geographical, political, linguistic and sporting terms. In brief, the main terms and their simple explanations are as follows:
- Geographical terms:
- The disputed.[1]
- Great Britain is the largest island of the archipelago.[2]
- Ireland is the second-largest island of the archipelago and lies directly to the west of Great Britain. The island of Ireland itself has its own islands.
- The full list of islands of the British Isles includes over 6,000 islands, of which 51 have an area larger than 20 km2 (7.7 sq mi).[3]
- The
- Political terms:
- The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the parliamentary constitutional monarchy occupying the island of Great Britain, the small nearby islands (but not the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands), and the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland. Usually, it is shortened to the United Kingdom or the UK, or Britain.[4]; Great Britain is sometimes used as a short form and is the name used by the UK in some international organisations.[5] The abbreviation GB is frequently used for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in international agreements, e.g. Universal Postal Union and Road Traffic Convention, as well as in the ISO 3166 country codes (GB and GBR). England was also formerly used synecdochically to refer to the whole United Kingdom but this usage became rare early in the 20th century (though it persists in other languages).
- Ireland is the sovereign republic occupying the larger portion of the island of Ireland. To distinguish the state from the island, or to distinguish either of these from Northern Ireland, it is also called "the Republic of Ireland" or simply "the Republic". In the past, its Irish-language name, Éire (or Eire without the diacritic), was often used in an English-language context to distinguish it from "Northern Ireland".
- England, home nationsof the United Kingdom.
- England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland are separate legal jurisdictions within the United Kingdom.[6]
- Great Britain means the countries of England, Wales and Scotland, considered as a unit.[7]
- British monarchas head of state.
- Linguistic terms:
- The two island of Ireland).
- British is an adjective of the United Kingdom; for example, a British citizen—but for citizenship purposes "British" includes the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
- Anglo-is often used as an adjectival prefix referring to the United Kingdom (notwithstanding that its original meaning is "English") particularly in the field of diplomatic relations. It can also refer to the English language, to anglophone peoples and can have a variety of other shades of meaning.
- Wales is sometimes called the Principality of Wales, although this has no modern constitutional basis.
- Northern Ireland is often referred to as a province or called Ulster, after the traditional Irish province of Ulster within which it is located.
- The two
- Sport
- Forms of national representation vary from sport to sport. England, Scotland and Wales often compete separately as nations.home nations.
- Forms of representation can also vary within a sport. In women's association football, for instance, England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland compete as separate nations at the FIFA Women's World Cup but join together as the Great Britain Olympic football team ("Team GB") for the Olympics.
- .
- Great Britain is sometimes used to mean United Kingdom. For example, at the Universiade, the team marches under the full name "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" under the letter "U" in the Parade of Nations.
- In the majority of individual sports (e.g. athletics), at the international level competitors are identified as GB if they are from Great Britain or Northern Ireland. A small number of sports (e.g. golf, darts, snooker) identify participants as representing their constituent country. In the Commonwealth Games, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales each compete as separate nations, as do each of the three Crown Dependencies (Ireland is not part of the Commonwealthand is not eligible to participate).
- Forms of national representation vary from sport to sport. England, Scotland and Wales often compete separately as nations.
Visual guide
Below is a visual reference guide to some of the main concepts and territories described in this article:
-
The British Isles
-
The British Islands
-
The United Kingdom
-
Great Britain (island)
-
Ireland (island)
-
The Isle of Man
Terminology in detail
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,[11] or the island of Great Britain.
- Great Britain is the largest island in Europe and the political union of three nations, these being:
- the term "England" did legally include Wales.
- England (see also the historical Kingdom of England).
- Wales (see also the historical Principality of Wales).
- Scotland (see also the historical Kingdom of Scotland)
- The historical Kingdom of Great Britain is Britain for the period 1707–1801.
- Britannia is the Latin name for Great Britain or for the Roman province of Britain, or a poetic reference to later Britain, or a female personification of Britain.
- The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, usually shortened to the United Kingdom (abbreviation UK),[4] is the sovereign state comprising Great Britain plus Northern Ireland since 1927. (The Partition of Ireland took place in 1922, but the consequent change in the official title of the UK was only made by Act of Parliament five years later.) The United Kingdom is often called Britain, even on official websites,[12] where such use is described as "informal".[13][11] A proposal to rename the political entity as the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ulster" was formally recommended by civil servants to the Cabinet in 1949 but ultimately rejected.[14]
- The historical United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was Great Britain plus Ireland, for the period 1801 to 1922, although the name change after the secession of the Irish Free State only took place in 1927.
- While "United Kingdom" is normally abbreviated UK, the official TCP/IP practice of following ISO 3166 (a .gbdomain has also been used to a limited extent in the past but is now defunct).
- GB was also used on car number plates to indicate the United Kingdom until September, 2021. The car sticker has been 'UK' since then.[16]
- Ireland (Irish: Éire) refers, geographically, to the island of Ireland, or to any of the following:
- Historically:
- The Republic of Ireland Act 1948abolished that status).
- The Irish Republic, established by the Irish Declaration of Independence, was a 32-county republic encompassing the entire island, during the period 1919–22—though its de facto rule did not encompass all of the island. During this period, according to British law, Ireland remained part of the UK though its independence was recognised by Russia.
- Southern Ireland was a 26-county region of Ireland that was created when Ireland was partitioned under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. It was superseded by:
- The Irish Free State is Ireland excepting Northern Ireland during the period 1922–37.
- The
- Present:
- Ireland (Irish: Éire) is the political entity consisting of the island of Ireland excepting Northern Ireland, 1937–present. This is the name of the state according to the Irish Constitution and the United Nations.
- The Republic of Ireland is a commonly used description of Ireland excepting Northern Ireland, 1949–present. It is also the name used by the international association football team.
- The terms Irish Republic, Southern Ireland, the Irish Free State, the Free State, the 26 Counties and Éire (in English-language texts) have been used synonymously with the Republic of Ireland. Of these, Southern Ireland and Irish Free State, in particular, are seen as outdated. Eire (spelt without the Irish fada) was the British legal spelling from the Eire (Confirmation of Agreements) Act 1938 until the Ireland Act 1949, and informally for some years after.
- Northern Ireland (1921–present). That part of the island of Ireland northeast of the line of partition of 1921, and which is still part of the United Kingdom. Various alternative names have been used or proposed for Northern Ireland. It is sometimes referred to as "the North of Ireland", "the Six Counties" or (in extremist usage) the "occupied six counties", especially by Irish Nationalists. The "Northern" in "Northern Ireland" is not completely accurate. The most northerly point on the island, Malin Head, is in the Republic of Ireland—in County Donegal's Inishowen Peninsula.
- Ulster is the name of one of Ireland's four traditional provinces. The province contains nine northern counties, six of which make up Northern Ireland, and three of which are part of the Republic of Ireland. It is also often used by Unionists to refer to the smaller Northern Ireland. Though Ulster has not been a political entity since the ancient Gaelic provincial kingdoms, it remains associated with a geographical area and is used in sporting and cultural contexts. See Ulster (disambiguation).
- In sport
- In Australia, an Irish national team is chosen from all 32 counties.
- In Irish Football League and the League of Irelandrespectively.
- In athletics and others the Ireland team is drawn from the whole island (i.e. both the Republic and Northern Ireland). Many sports organisations are subdivided along provincial lines e.g. Gaelic Athletic Association, golf.
- In
- The British Isles naming disputefor details of the conflict over use of this term.
- Anglo-Celtic Isles is an alternative term (in limited use) for the archipelago more commonly referred to as the British Isles. It is intended as a geographic term free of any political implication and uses the macro-cultural grouping term Anglo-Celtic, referring to the peoples from which the majority of the island group's population are descended—the Anglo-Saxons and the Celts (it can also be inclusive of the Anglo-Normans).
- Islands of the North Atlantic is another suggested replacement term for British Isles, without the same political connotations. However, its convolution and impracticality due to implying inclusion of fellow North Atlantic islands such as Iceland have made it unworkable and it has not come into common use. The term was used as part of the Strand 3 level of negotiations for the Belfast agreement. (Its acronym, IONA, is also the name of the small but historically important island of Iona off the coast of Scotland.)
- Great Britain and Ireland, or Britain and Ireland are also used as alternatives to the term British Isles.
- On the 2011 Jersey census, "British Isles" is used to refer to the other British islands than Jersey, but does not include the Republic of Ireland.[17]
- British Islands (a legal term not in common usage) is the UK, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands.
- Brittany, itself derived from Medieval Latin Britannia, and sometimes formerly known as Little Britain is a historical Duchy in the West of France, now a French region; for this modern administrative sense, see Brittany (administrative region).
Geographical distinctions
The British Isles
The
Great Britain
Great Britain is the largest of the British Isles. On Great Britain are located three constituent countries of the United Kingdom: Scotland in the north, England in the south and east and Wales in the west. There are also numerous smaller islands off its coast (not coloured red on the attached map) that are administered as part of England, Scotland and Wales. The inclusion of these smaller islands means political 'Great Britain' covers a slightly larger area than the island of Great Britain.
Ireland
The second largest island in the group is Ireland. Most of the island is in the Republic of Ireland. The north east of the island (Northern Ireland) is part of the United Kingdom. There are also numerous smaller islands off the coast of Ireland.
Isle of Man
The
Channel Islands
Although the
Political terms in more detail
The United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the official full title of the state. This name appears on official documentation such as British passports. For convenience, the name is usually shortened to United Kingdom, UK or Britain.[4][13]
The United Kingdom is a
Wales is also often erroneously
Great Britain is both a geographical and a political entity. Geographically, it is one island, but
The abbreviation GB is sometimes officially used for the United Kingdom, for example in the
The
.Though GB is the United Kingdom's ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code, UK is exceptionally reserved for the United Kingdom on the request of the country.
The four constituent parts of the UK are also known, particularly in sporting contexts, as Home Nations or the "Four Nations". The BBC refers to its UK-wide broadcasting operation as Nations and Regions [22] ("regions" referring to geographic regions of England. Thus the naming conventions tend towards describing distinct regions or nations which exist within a single sovereign state.
In sport, the home nations mostly have their own separate national teams – England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, for example in association football. Sporting contests between the Four Nations are known as "Home internationals" (an example is the British Home Championship in football).
The governing body for football in Northern Ireland is called the
Since the
Citizens of the UK are called British, Britons, Brits, (colloquial) or Britisher (archaic). The term Unionists may also be used when referring to supporters of the Union. Some older slang names for Britons are Tommy (for British soldiers) and Anglo. Anglo properly refers only to England, but it is sometimes used as a broader reference as an element in compound adjectives: for example, "Anglo-French relations" may be used in newspaper articles when referring to relations between the political entities France and the United Kingdom. Anglo-Saxon may be used (particularly in Continental European languages) when referring to the whole English-speaking world.
Ireland
Since the adoption of the
Since the
Before the introduction of the 1937 constitution and the new name, the
Traditionally, the island of Ireland is divided into four provinces – Leinster, Connacht, Munster and Ulster, with each of the provinces further divided into counties. The Republic of Ireland takes up 83% of the island, twenty-six of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. Northern Ireland takes up the remaining area, six of the traditional nine counties of Ulster.
In Northern Ireland, Irishness is a highly contested identity, with fundamentally different perceptions of national identity between unionists (who generally perceive themselves as being British) and nationalists (who generally consider both communities to be part of the Irish nation).[24]
The Republic of Ireland is often referred to by the
The Irish passport is available to Irish citizens and can also be applied for abroad through Irish Consular services and the local Irish Embassy. As per the Irish nationality law, any person born on the island of Ireland before 2005, or otherwise a first generation descendant of such a person, is allowed to apply for an Irish passport. As such, people born in Northern Ireland and their children may be Irish citizens and hold an Irish passport if they choose.
British Islands
Under the
On the 2011 Jersey census, "British Isles" as a country of origin is used to refer to the other British islands than Jersey (effectively the British Islands), but does not include the Republic of Ireland.[17]
Special British passports are issued to citizens of the Crown dependencies. On the front of passports issued to residents of the Crown dependencies, the words "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" are replaced with the name of the issuing state or island. Pre-Brexit, Crown dependency also bore the title "European Union" for border control purposes. Crown dependency citizens who have no family ties to the United Kingdom were granted a special limited 'Islander Status' under EU law (article 6 of Protocol 3 in the Treaty of Accession of the UK to the European Community).[25]
Historical aspects
Some suggest an early known for the term might be from ancient Greek writings. Though some of the original texts have been lost, excerpts were quoted or paraphrased by later authors. Parts of the Massaliote Periplus, a merchants' handbook describing searoutes of the sixth century BC, were used in translation in the writings of Avienius around AD 400. Ireland was referred to as Ierne (Insula sacra, the sacred island, as the Greeks interpreted it) "inhabited by the race of Hiberni" (gens hiernorum), and Britain as insula Albionum, "island of the Albions".[26] Several sources from around 150 BC to AD 70 include fragments of the travel writings of the ancient Greek Pytheas around 320 BC, use the terms Albion and Ierne[27][28] and have been described as referring to the British Isles, including Ireland, as the Prettanic or Brettanic Islands (Βρεττανικαὶ νῆσοι) or as αἱ Βρεττανιαι, literally "the Britains".[26][28][29] Greek writers called the peoples of these islands the Πρεττανοί, later Bρεττανοί (alternative spellings of this and of all relative words have a single
The Romans called the inhabitants of Gaul (modern
Priteni is the source of the
Romans
The name Albion for
In the later years of Roman rule Britons who left Latin inscriptions, both at home and elsewhere in the Empire, often described themselves as Brittanus or Britto, and where describing their citizenship gave it as cives of a British tribe or of a patria (homeland) of Britannia, not Roma.[26] From the 4th century, many Britons migrated from Roman Britain across the English Channel and founded Brittany.
Mediaeval period
While Latin remained the language of learning, from the early
Another early native source to use a collective term is the
Renaissance mapmakers
Abraham Ortelius makes clear his understanding that England, Scotland and Ireland were politically separate in 1570 by the full title of his map: Angliae, Scotiae et Hiberniae, sive Britannicar. insularum descriptio ('A representation of England, Scotland and Ireland, or the Britannic islands'). George Lily's 1546 map divides Britain into the two kingdoms of England and Scotland, with Ireland alongside. Some maps from this period also appear to mark Wales, and sometimes Cornwall, as separate areas within Britain, while the history of England created by Polydore Vergil[35] for Henry VIII states, "The whole country of Britain is divided into four parts, whereof the one is inhabited by Englishmen, the other of Scots, the third Welshmen and the fourth of Cornish people."[36]
Maps of the Mediaeval, Renaissance and later periods often referred to
18th and 19th centuries
Following the
Evolution of kingdoms and states
The diagram on the right gives an indication of the further evolution of kingdoms and states. In 1603,
The
Slang
Adjectives
The
In the absence of a single adjective to refer to the United Kingdom, British is generally used to refer to the United Kingdom as a whole. However, in a specifically physical geographical sense, British is used to refer to the island of Great Britain.[39] The adjectival phrase Great British is very rarely used to refer to the island, other than to contrive a pun on the word great, as in "Great British Food".
Irish, refers to people or a characteristic "of Ireland".
The term Ulster can also be used as an adjective (e.g. "
Note that the geographical term
Problems with the use of terms
British Isles
The dictionary definition of the British Isles is that it is a geographical term that refers to the whole of Ireland and Great Britain as well as the surrounding islands. It is sometimes incorrectly used as if identical to the United Kingdom, or to refer to Great Britain and the surrounding islands, excluding the island of Ireland entirely.[42] The BBC and The Times have style guides that mandate the dictionary definition but occasional misuse can be found on their websites.[43]
The term British Isles can also be considered irritating or offensive by some[44] on the grounds that the modern association of the term British with the United Kingdom makes its application to Ireland inappropriate. The term can also be considered to imply a proprietary title on the entire archipelago.[45]
The policy of the government of Ireland is that no branch of government should use the term,[46] and although it is on occasion used in a geographical sense in Irish parliamentary debates, this is often done in a way that excludes the Republic of Ireland. In October 2006, The Times quoted a spokesman for the Irish Embassy in London as saying that they would discourage its use.[47]
During a stop-over visit to the Republic of Ireland in 1989, the leader of the
There have been several suggestions for replacements for the term British Isles. Although there is no single accepted replacement, the terms Great Britain and Ireland, The British Isles and Ireland and Britain and Ireland are all used. In Northern Ireland, some nationalists use these islands or these isles as an alternative.[49]
Britain
The word Britain is ambiguous, being used variously to mean Great Britain,[50][51] the United Kingdom,[52][51] and for some, England.[53] The usage of Britain can be contentious, with many people in Northern Ireland objecting to its application to their region.[54] While some organisations, including the BBC, prefer to use Britain as shorthand for Great Britain,[55] others prefer, where precision is not required, to use Britain to mean the United Kingdom.[56] The UK Government itself states a preference for using the UK over Britain in its style guide, but does not describe the latter as incorrect, and says elsewhere that "it is only the one specific nominal term "Great Britain", which invariably excludes Northern Ireland."[57]
England
The word England is often used synecdochically to refer to Great Britain, or the United Kingdom as a whole, or sometimes the British Isles.[58] References to England as an island,[59] to an "English passport",[60] or to Scottish or Welsh places as being in England[60][61] are examples of this usage of the term "England".
Such usage often causes offence, particularly to those from the non-English parts of the United Kingdom. Because of this, most politicians and official figures have avoided this usage since the early 20th century. However, there are frequent examples of this usage from earlier times.
The colloquial usage of England as a synonym for the United Kingdom is still widespread outside the country. In
Europe
The term Europe may be used in one of several different contexts by British and Irish people: either to refer to the whole of the European continent, to refer to only to
Great Britain
The word "Great" means "larger", in comparison with
Ireland
The word Ireland is also ambiguous, with the
Ulster
The terminology and usage of the name Ulster in Irish and British culture varies. Many within the
Thus, the word Ulster has two usages:
- It is the name of one of the four Provinces of Ireland, consisting of the nine northern counties of the island, that was partitioned between the United Kingdom (six counties) and the Republic of Ireland (three counties).
- It is an alternative name for Unionistcommunity. It consists of the six north-eastern counties of the island that remain part of the United Kingdom.
Further information
Isle of Man and Channel Islands
The Isle of Man and the two bailiwicks of the Channel Islands are Crown Dependencies; that is, non-sovereign nations, self-governing but whose sovereignty is held by the British Crown. They control their own internal affairs, but not their defence or foreign relations. They are not part of the United Kingdom, and were not part of the European Union when the UK was a member state.
- The Isle of Man is part of the British Isles, situated in the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Ireland.
- The Channel Islands consist politically of two self-governing bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey. They are the remnants of the Duchy of Normandy, which was once in personal union with the Kingdom of England. They are sometimes, despite their location next to mainland France, considered part of the British Isles. This usage is political rather than geographic.
- The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands are British Islands in United Kingdom law.
Celtic names
There are five Celtic languages in current use in the region. Each has names for the islands and countries of the British Isles. They are divided into two branches:
- Scottish Gaelic and Manx
Some of the above are:
English | Cornwall | Wales | Ireland | Northern Ireland |
Republic of Ireland |
Scotland | Mann | England |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cornish (Kernewek) |
Kernow | Kembra | Iwerdhon | Iwerdhon Gledh | Repoblek Iwerdhon | Alban | Manow | Pow an Sawson |
Welsh (Cymraeg) |
Cernyw | Cymru | Iwerddon | Gogledd Iwerddon | Gweriniaeth Iwerddon | Yr Alban | Manaw | Lloegr |
Irish (Gaeilge) |
an Chorn | an Bhreatain Bheag | Éire | Tuaisceart Éireann | Poblacht na hÉireann | Albain | Manainn | Sasana |
Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) |
a' Chòrn | a' Chuimrigh | Èirinn | Èirinn a Tuath | Poblachd na h-Èireann | Alba | Manainn | Sasann |
Manx (Gaelg) |
y Chorn | Bretyn | Nerin | Nerin Hwoaie | Pobblaght Nerin | Nalbin | Mannin | Sostyn |
The English word Welsh is from a common Germanic root meaning "Romanised foreigner" (cognate with Wallonia and Wallachia, and also cognate with the word used in Mediaeval German to refer to the French and Italians).[66]
The English names Albion and Albany are related to Alba and used poetically for either England or Scotland, or the whole island of Great Britain.
English Erin is a poetic name for Ireland derived from Éire (or rather, from its dative form Éirinn).
Terms for the British Isles in the Irish language
In Irish, the term Oileáin Bhriotanacha is a translation of the English term British Isles. Another translation is Oileáin Bhreataineacha, which was used in the 1937 translation from English to Irish of a 1931 geography book.[67]
Earlier dictionaries[68] give Oileáin Iarthair Eorpa as the translation, literally meaning West European Isles. Today the most common term Éire agus an Bhreatain Mhór is used, meaning, literally, Ireland and Great Britain, as provided by terminological dictionaries.[69]
See also
- Administrative geography of the United Kingdom
- British–Irish Council
- British and Irish Lions
- British Overseas Territories
- Glossary of names for the British
References
- ISBN 978-0-7506-7978-7.and others."
The British Isles comprise more than 6,000 islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe, including the countries of the United Kingdom of Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland. The group also includes the United Kingdom crown dependencies of the Isle of Man, and by tradition, the Channel Islands (the Bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey), even though these islands are strictly speaking an archipelago immediately off the coast of Normandy (France) rather than part of the British Isles.
; "Written Answers – Official Terms" Archived 2012-10-06 at the Wayback Machine, Dáil Éireann, Volume 606, 28 September 2005. In his response, the Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs stated that "The British Isles is not an officially recognised term in any legal or inter-governmental sense. It is without any official status. The Government, including the Department of Foreign Affairs, does not use this term. Our officials in the Embassy of Ireland, London, continue to monitor the media in Britain for any abuse of the official terms as set out in the Constitution of Ireland and legislation. These include the name of the State, the President, Taoiseach - ^ "Britain", Oxford English Dictionary: "More fully Great Britain. The term Great Britain includes England, Scotland and Wales; it does not include Northern Ireland. As a geographical and political term: (the main island and smaller offshore islands making up) England, Scotland, and Wales, sometimes with the Isle of Man"; New Oxford American Dictionary: "Britain: an island that consists of England, Wales, and Scotland. The name is broadly synonymous with Great Britain, but the longer form is more usual for the political unit."; "Britain", Oxford English Dictionary (Online Edition): "Britain: 1a – The proper name of the whole island containing England, Wales, and Scotland, with their dependencies; more fully called Great Britain; now also used for the British state or empire as a whole."
- better source needed]
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- National Assembly for Wales, "England and Wales" remains a single jurisdiction.
- ^ "Great Britain", New Oxford American Dictionary: "Great Britain: England, Wales, and Scotland considered as a unit. The name is also often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom."; "Countries within a country". Number-10.gov.uk. 2003-01-10. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
- ^ World and Its Peoples, Terrytown (NY): Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 2010, p. 111,
In most sports, except soccer, Northern Ireland participates with the Republic of Ireland in a combined All-Ireland team.
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- ^ "UK Government's "Guide to Government"". Direct.gov.uk. Archived from the original on July 14, 2007. Retrieved 2010-06-19.; "Office for National Statistics". Statistics.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 2009-10-05. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
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'Britain' is used informally, usually meaning the United Kingdom.
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- ^ "Electronic Mail address changes" On the transition from big-endian to little-endian notation (Dept of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Leeds
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- ^ a b Jersey Census Results, p. 9. 2011. AccessedL 1 March 2022.
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- ^ BBC News (2004-01-27). "Irish and GB in Olympic Row". Retrieved 2013-05-02.
- ^ CAIN: Democratic Dialogue: With all due respect – pluralism and parity of esteem (Report No. 7) by Tom Hennessey and Robin Wilson, Democratic Dialogue (1997)
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- ^ "Entry for Albion a 1911 Encyclopedia". Historymedren.about.com. 2010-06-14. Archived from the original on 2008-07-23. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
- ^ a b Greek "... ἐν τούτῳ γε μὴν νῆσοι μέγιστοι τυγχάνουσιν οὖσαι δύο, Βρεττανικαὶ λεγόμεναι, Ἀλβίων καὶ Ἰέρνη, ...", transliteration "... en toutoi ge men nesoi megistoi tynchanousin ousai dyo, Brettanikai legomenai, Albion kai Ierne, ...", Aristotle or Pseudo-Aristotle. "On the Cosmos, 393b12". On Sophistical Refutations. On Coming-to-be and Passing Away. On the Cosmos. Translated by E. S. Forster; D. J. Furley. William Heinemann, Harvard University Press.
- ^ )
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- ^ Thomas Kingston Derry, Michael G. Blakeway, J. Murray, The making of pre-industrial Britain: life and work between the Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution, 1969.; Philip Payton, The Making of Modern Cornwall: Historical Experience and the Persistence of "Difference", Dyllansow Truran, 1992.
- ^ a b "Britain, n.2". Oxford English Dictionary (3rd ed.). 2008. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
- Urduwords vilayat ("inhabited country", specifically Europe or Britain) and vilayati ("foreign", or "British, English, European") were borrowed by the British in the 19th Century.... But it was the regional variant bilayati - rendered as Blighty in English and meaning "Britain, England, home" - which really took off in Britain. Although it was first used during the Boer war, it was not until WW1 that Blighty spread widely and developed new meanings.
- ^ "British". Collins English Dictionary. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
- ^ "Irish". Collins English Dictionary. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
- ^ "British-Irish Agreement". British-Irish. 12 December 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
- ^ "The website uses the term "British Isles" in various ways, including ways that use Ireland as all of Ireland, while simultaneously using the term "The British Isles and Ireland", e.g. "Anyone using GENUKI should remember that its name is somewhat misleading — the website actually covers the British Isles and Ireland, rather than just the United Kingdom, and therefore includes information about the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, as well as England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland." Archived 2007-11-05 at the Wayback Machine; "[1][permanent dead link] Guide to Narrow Gauge rail in the British Isles and Ireland which includes Belfast lines under the section on Ireland."
- ^ British Weather (Part One) This BBC article referred to "a small country such as the British Isles" between at least April 2004 and January 2007 (checked using the Wayback Machine at https://web.archive.org. Last accessed and checked 01/01/07. It was changed in February 2007 and now reads 'a small area such as the British Isles'; For example, see Google searches of the BBC website.
- ^ Marsh, David (2010-05-11). "Snooker and the geography of the British Isles". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2011-08-23.
- ISBN 978-1-84744-087-7.
- ^ "Written Answers – Official Terms" Archived 2012-10-06 at the Wayback Machine, Dáil Éireann – Volume 606 – 28 September 2005. In his response, the Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs added that "Our officials in the Embassy of Ireland, London, continue to monitor the media in Britain for any abuse of the official terms as set out in the Constitution of Ireland and in legislation. These include the name of the State, the President, Taoiseach and others."
- ^ "New atlas lets Ireland slip shackles of Britain" A spokesman for the Irish Embassy in London said: “The British Isles has a dated ring to it, as if we are still part of the Empire. We are independent, we are not part of Britain, not even in geographical terms. We would discourage its usage. [sic]”
- ISBN 1-902602-39-0
- ^ Guelke, Adrian (2001). "Northern Ireland and Island Status". In John McGarry (ed.). Northern Ireland and the Divided World: The Northern Ireland Conflict and the Good Friday Agreement in Comparative Perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 231.
- ^ "Britain Meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary". dictionary.cambridge.org.; "Definition of Britain in English by Oxford Dictionaries". Oxford Dictionaries - English. Archived from the original on September 26, 2016.
- ^ a b "Britain definition and meaning". www.collinsdictionary.com. Collins English Dictionary.
- ^ "Britain - Definition for English-Language Learners". learnersdictionary.com. Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary.
- ISBN 9781134670567.
- ^ "Alphabetical checklist". BBC. 19 August 2002.
many people in Northern Ireland object strongly ... to the idea that they live in Britain.
- ^ "Alphabetical checklist". BBC News. BBC. Archived from the original on 2018-07-17. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
- ^ "Places and people". The Telegraph. 23 January 2018.
The United Kingdom or the abbreviation UK is to be avoided ... unless the story has a specific relevance to Northern Ireland that would make the use of "Britain" or "British" wrong.
; "Style Guide" (PDF). The Economist. 2005. p. 38.favour simplicity over precision and use Britain rather than Great Britain or the United Kingdom
- ^ "Toponymic guidelines for map and other editors, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". www.gov.uk. UK Government.; "A to Z - Style guide". www.gov.uk. UK Government.
- ISBN 0-8131-2076-4
- ^ Charlotte Augusta Sneyd (1500). A Relation or rather a True Account of the Island of England. Camden Society. Retrieved 2007-10-21.
island of england.
- ^ a b c BBC News (1999-01-14). "The English: Europe's lost tribe". Retrieved 2007-10-21.
- ^ "Learn English in Edinburgh, England". ESL Language Studies. Archived from the original on 2007-01-19. Retrieved 2007-10-21.
- ISBN 0-7546-0830-1
- ^ Claudius Ptolemy (1898). "Ἕκθεσις τῶν κατὰ παράλληλον ἰδιωμάτων: κβ', κε'" (PDF). In Heiberg, J.L. (ed.). Claudii Ptolemaei Opera quae exstant omnia. Vol. 1 Syntaxis Mathematica. Leipzig: in aedibus B.G.Teubneri. pp. 112–113.
- ^ Philip Freeman, Ireland and the Classical World, University of Texas Press, 2001
- ^ "A Glossary of Terms Related to the Conflict". CAIN Web service. Ulster University. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
- ISBN 0-14-014581-8.
- ^ Tír-Eóluíocht na h-Éireann (translation by Toirdhealbhach Ó Raithbheartaigh of Macmillan's General and Regional Geography of Ireland by T. J. Dunne), Government Publications Office, Dublin
Tá Éire ar cheann de na h-oileáin a dtugar na h-Oileáin Bhreataineacha ortha agus atá ar an taobh Thiar-Thuaidh de'n Eóraip. Tá siad tuairim a's ar chúig mhíle oileán ar fad ann. (Oileánradh an t-ainm a bheirtear ar áit ar bith i n-a bhfuil a lán oileán agus iad i n-aice a chéile mar seo.) Éire agus an Bhreatain Mhór (Sasain, an Bhreatain Bheag, agus Alba) an dá oileán is mó de na h-Oileáin Bhreataineacha.
Ireland is one of the islands which are called the British Isles and which are on the North-Western side of Europe. It is thought that there are five thousand islands in total there. (Archipelago is the name which is borne by a place in which there are many islands next to each other like these.) Ireland and Great Britain (England, Wales, and Scotland) are the two largest islands of the British Isles.
- ^ Patrick S. Dinneen, Foclóir Gaeilge Béarla, Irish-English Dictionary, Dublin, 1927
- ^ "the British Isles". téarma.ie – Dictionary of Irish Terms. Foras na Gaeilge and Dublin City University. Retrieved 18 Nov 2016.