Alternative words for British
Encyclopedia
Alternative names for the British
(people from the United Kingdom
) include nicknames and terms, including affectionate ones, neutral ones, and derogatory ones to describe the British people
and more specifically English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish/Irish people.
and North America
n slang
nickname
for British people, originally referring to British sailor
s and seamen. This term is believed to derive from lime-juicer, referring to the Royal Navy
and British Merchant Navy practice of supplying rations of lime juice to British sailors to prevent scurvy
. The term "Limey" is thought to have originated in the Caribbean in the 1880s.
An alternate explanation comes from the Limes Britannicus, which was the northern most border of the Roman Empire dividing Scotland and England but it is unlikely that this term was well known in the Caribbean and North America at the time this nickname arose.
A certainly false etymology
is that "Limey" is a derivative of the phrase "Cor blimey
" ("God blind me!").
and in 2010 by the New Zealand Broadcasting Standards Authority
. Despite these changing views, many British people or those of British origin consider the expression offensive or racist when used by people not of British origin to describe English or British people, yet acceptable when used within that community: for example, the community group British People Against Racial Discrimination was among those who complained to the Advertising Standards Board about five advertisements poking fun at "Poms", prompting the 2006 decision.
The origin of this term is not confirmed and there are several persistent false etymologies
. The Oxford English Dictionary
(OED) strongly supports the theory that pommy originated as a contraction of "pomegranate
". The OED also suggests that the reason for this is that pomegranate is extinct Australian rhyming slang for immigrant; it cites an article from 14 November 1912, in a once-prominent Australian weekly magazine The Bulletin
: "The other day a Pummy Grant (assisted immigrant) was handed a bridle and told to catch a horse." A popular alternative explanation for the theory that pommy is a contraction of "pomegranate", relates to the purported frequency of sunburn among British people in Australia, turning their fair skin the colour of pomegranates. However, there is no hard evidence for the theory regarding sunburn. Another unofficial explanation is that P.O.M. stands for 'Prisoner of Millbank ' or that P.O.H.M.E. stands for 'Prisoner of Her Majesty's Exile'. However, the OED states that there is no evidence for these terms or abbreviations being used and that they are an unlikely source. The most viable potability is that the term stands for P.O.M.E. - Prisoner of Mother England Historian Richard Holt maintains the origin of the term comes from English cricket tours of Australia where the English gentlemen amateurs would drink Pommery Champagne in preference to Australian beer.
.
But the original explanation of this French
term is that rosbif referred to the English style of cooking roast beef
, and especially to the song The Roast Beef of Old England
.
In Portugal, the term bife (literally meaning steak
, but sounding like beef) is used as a slang term to refer to the British. There is a feminine form, bifa, mainly used to refer to British female tourists.
the term 'Pom' may also be used, while Afrikaans
speakers use the term rooinek (literally 'red neck', another reference to sunburning).
During the Second Boer War
, they became known as Khaki
s, in reference to the colour of their uniforms - which, by then, was no longer the red coats
so unsuitable to the South African climate.
Another common term in South Africa used mostly by the Afrikaans is Soutie or Sout Piel. This is from the concept that the Brits have one leg in Britain and one leg in South Africa, leaving the penis hanging in the salt water. Sout Piel means Salt Penis (or rather "dick"). However, this term refers more specifically to British people who have settled in South Africa, as they are more likely to be imagined as having one foot in each country than a Briton who is simply visiting as a tourist.
). Angrez, Angrej, Ingraj, Anggrit are versions of French
word Anglais meaning Englishman
.
Ingraj is used in Maharashtra
(Marathi
) and West Bengal
(Bengali
) region of India
to refer to British
people.
Engrez is of Slavic
origin and is sometimes used to refer to British people.
"Engilisi" is of Persian
origin.
Among South Asia
ns, Angrez has the same meaning, although its more specific meaning is Englishman, with Angrezan for an English woman. This is mostly seen as an ethnic, rather than a territorial, term and applied specifically for people of Anglo-Saxon
origin. So people of South Asian origin living in England do not usually refer to themselves as Angrez or Angrezan. Replacing the z with j and j with z is common practice especially amongst people from India
, particularly Indian Punjab
; hence it would be "Angrej" (masculine) and "Angrejan" (female). Pakistanis and especially Urdu speakers always pronounce z and j correctly.
The word Firangi is used in the same sense as Angrez. "Firangi" or Firang is derived from the word "Franks" and arose during the Crusades
, when all invading Christian
s of the Latin Church came to be seen as Franks. It tends to refer to West Europeans and the European diaspora. "Firanghi" is also used in Persian language
and Indian (Sanskrit origin) speaking countries to denote the meaning of "foreigner" or "outsider", generally meaning a "Westerner."
Indian Punjabis
use the term Englandi for any other citizen of England
, including Asian British people, regardless of that person's ancestral ethnicity.
The adjective Gora (Gori for females) is also commonly used amongst South Asia
ns and South Asian British to refer to white Britons, although the term literally translates to "fair-skinned one", and thus could and is applied to individuals of any ethnicity with a fair complexion including south Asians themselves. The adjective has also been used as a noun to describe white people—hence its potential as a racial slur.
Malayalis of Kerala
use the term Sayyip to refer to a male westerner.
The feminine equivalent is Madaamma.
In Thai, the word anggrit (อังกฤษ) is used to described both the English in particular, and the British in general. The terms Scotland and Scot are also used to describe the people, country and whisky of Scotland.
was originally a character created by John Arbuthnot
in 1712 to satirise
the Whig
war party. Later in the 18th century, British satirical artists James Gillray
, Thomas Rowlandson
and George Cruikshank
contrasted the stout and healthy British cartoon character with scrawny French revolutionary
sans-culottes
Jacobins
. During the 19th century the American cartoonist Thomas Nast
also drew John Bull. This character has tended to be more popular in England, and to be more associated with England, than with either, Scotland
, Wales
, or Ireland
. In light of this fact, John Bull's creator, John Arbuthnot, gave John Bull a sister, Peg, to represent the Scots.
is particularly associated with World War I
. The French and the British Commonwealth
armies used the name "Tommy" for the British. "Tommy" is derived from the name Tommy Atkins
which had been used as a generic name for a soldier for many years (and had been used as an example name on British Army
registration forms). The precise origin is the subject of some debate, but it is known to have been used as early as 1743. Rudyard Kipling
published the poem Tommy (part of the Barrack Room Ballads) in 1892 and in 1893 the music hall
song Private Tommy Atkins was published with words by Henry Hamilton and music by S. Potter. In 1898 William McGonagall wrote Lines In Praise of Tommy Atkins.
The paybooks issued to all British soldiers of World War I
used the name "Tommy Atkins" to illustrate how they should be filled in.
is a defunct slang term (along with "lobsterback") for a British soldier. This term applied from the mid-17th century to around 1902 when British Army
soldier
s wore distinctive Venetian Red
coats as part of their formal fighting wear and military dress uniform
s. This term, "redcoat", is often used in a modern sense towards the British in a jovial manner, especially by Americans.
However, the term "redcoat" has become somewhat associated with all Canadian
s because of the distinctive flame-red dress uniform
s of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
(RCMP), which are worn only during ceremonies. This colour was chosen by the Canadians because Native Americans in the Canadian North West were more comfortable dealing with police officers in red uniforms, which they associated with the British Empire, rather than the standard police blue, which was negatively associated with the United States Army.
languages Muzungu
has come to mean any white European but more often than not especially the British or English due to their colonial past in the region.
In one of the Vindolanda tablets
the Latin
pejorative of Brittunculi (wretched little Britons) is used (presumably by a Roman official) in a commentary of their particular military tactics.
In many languages, the equivalent terms for 'English' and 'England' are often used interchangeably with 'British' and 'Britain', and this is also relatively common in many non-British varieties of English. For example in Turkish
'İngiltere' is used for both Britain and England, despite there being a separate word for Britain, 'Britanya'. Welsh people in particular are very often referred to in French as 'Anglais' rather than 'Gallois', in Russian as 'англичанин' Angličanin, and so on. The same occurs rather less frequently in the case of individuals from Scotland and Northern Ireland. Scotland and Ireland remained at least partially separate entities until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries respectively, when the Kingdom of Great Britain
and United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
were formed. However, even these countries may still sometimes be considered to form part of Angleterre or the equivalent. In some languages, as in French, forms like Britannique ('British') are restricted to more official contexts, and tend to be used for governments rather than for individuals. In Assam (became part of British India in 1828), one of the last states to join British India, British are called as Boga Bongal (literally meaning White Foreigners or White Intruders). Bongal was a derogatory word for foreigners and invaders in Assam under Ahom rule and it still is used.
Alternative names for the British
(people from the United Kingdom
) include nicknames and terms, including affectionate ones, neutral ones, and derogatory ones to describe the British people
and more specifically English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish/Irish people.
Limey is a Caribbean
and North America
n slang
nickname
for British people, originally referring to British sailor
s and seamen. This term is believed to derive from lime-juicer, referring to the Royal Navy
and British Merchant Navy practice of supplying rations of lime juice to British sailors to prevent scurvy
. The term "Limey" is thought to have originated in the Caribbean in the 1880s.
An alternate explanation comes from the Limes Britannicus, which was the northern most border of the Roman Empire dividing Scotland and England but it is unlikely that this term was well known in the Caribbean and North America at the time this nickname arose.
A certainly false etymology
is that "Limey" is a derivative of the phrase "Cor blimey
" ("God blind me!").
and in 2010 by the New Zealand Broadcasting Standards Authority
. Despite these changing views, many British people or those of British origin consider the expression offensive or racist when used by people not of British origin to describe English or British people, yet acceptable when used within that community: for example, the community group British People Against Racial Discrimination was among those who complained to the Advertising Standards Board about five advertisements poking fun at "Poms", prompting the 2006 decision.
The origin of this term is not confirmed and there are several persistent false etymologies
. The Oxford English Dictionary
(OED) strongly supports the theory that pommy originated as a contraction of "pomegranate
". The OED also suggests that the reason for this is that pomegranate is extinct Australian rhyming slang for immigrant; it cites an article from 14 November 1912, in a once-prominent Australian weekly magazine The Bulletin
: "The other day a Pummy Grant (assisted immigrant) was handed a bridle and told to catch a horse." A popular alternative explanation for the theory that pommy is a contraction of "pomegranate", relates to the purported frequency of sunburn among British people in Australia, turning their fair skin the colour of pomegranates. However, there is no hard evidence for the theory regarding sunburn. Another unofficial explanation is that P.O.M. stands for 'Prisoner of Millbank ' or that P.O.H.M.E. stands for 'Prisoner of Her Majesty's Exile'. However, the OED states that there is no evidence for these terms or abbreviations being used and that they are an unlikely source. The most viable potability is that the term stands for P.O.M.E. - Prisoner of Mother England Historian Richard Holt maintains the origin of the term comes from English cricket tours of Australia where the English gentlemen amateurs would drink Pommery Champagne in preference to Australian beer.
.
But the original explanation of this French
term is that rosbif referred to the English style of cooking roast beef
, and especially to the song The Roast Beef of Old England
.
In Portugal, the term bife (literally meaning steak
, but sounding like beef) is used as a slang term to refer to the British. There is a feminine form, bifa, mainly used to refer to British female tourists.
the term 'Pom' may also be used, while Afrikaans
speakers use the term rooinek (literally 'red neck', another reference to sunburning).
During the Second Boer War
, they became known as Khaki
s, in reference to the colour of their uniforms - which, by then, was no longer the red coats
so unsuitable to the South African climate.
Another common term in South Africa used mostly by the Afrikaans is Soutie or Sout Piel. This is from the concept that the Brits have one leg in Britain and one leg in South Africa, leaving the penis hanging in the salt water. Sout Piel means Salt Penis (or rather "dick"). However, this term refers more specifically to British people who have settled in South Africa, as they are more likely to be imagined as having one foot in each country than a Briton who is simply visiting as a tourist.
). Angrez, Angrej, Ingraj, Anggrit are versions of French
word Anglais meaning Englishman
.
Ingraj is used in Maharashtra
(Marathi
) and West Bengal
(Bengali
) region of India
to refer to British
people.
Engrez is of Slavic
origin and is sometimes used to refer to British people.
"Engilisi" is of Persian
origin.
Among South Asia
ns, Angrez has the same meaning, although its more specific meaning is Englishman, with Angrezan for an English woman. This is mostly seen as an ethnic, rather than a territorial, term and applied specifically for people of Anglo-Saxon
origin. So people of South Asian origin living in England do not usually refer to themselves as Angrez or Angrezan. Replacing the z with j and j with z is common practice especially amongst people from India
, particularly Indian Punjab
; hence it would be "Angrej" (masculine) and "Angrejan" (female). Pakistanis and especially Urdu speakers always pronounce z and j correctly.
The word Firangi is used in the same sense as Angrez. "Firangi" or Firang is derived from the word "Franks" and arose during the Crusades
, when all invading Christian
s of the Latin Church came to be seen as Franks. It tends to refer to West Europeans and the European diaspora. "Firanghi" is also used in Persian language
and Indian (Sanskrit origin) speaking countries to denote the meaning of "foreigner" or "outsider", generally meaning a "Westerner."
Indian Punjabis
use the term Englandi for any other citizen of England
, including Asian British people, regardless of that person's ancestral ethnicity.
The adjective Gora (Gori for females) is also commonly used amongst South Asia
ns and South Asian British to refer to white Britons, although the term literally translates to "fair-skinned one", and thus could and is applied to individuals of any ethnicity with a fair complexion including south Asians themselves. The adjective has also been used as a noun to describe white people—hence its potential as a racial slur.
Malayalis of Kerala
use the term Sayyip to refer to a male westerner.
The feminine equivalent is Madaamma.
In Thai, the word anggrit (อังกฤษ) is used to described both the English in particular, and the British in general. The terms Scotland and Scot are also used to describe the people, country and whisky of Scotland.
was originally a character created by John Arbuthnot
in 1712 to satirise
the Whig
war party. Later in the 18th century, British satirical artists James Gillray
, Thomas Rowlandson
and George Cruikshank
contrasted the stout and healthy British cartoon character with scrawny French revolutionary
sans-culottes
Jacobins
. During the 19th century the American cartoonist Thomas Nast
also drew John Bull. This character has tended to be more popular in England, and to be more associated with England, than with either, Scotland
, Wales
, or Ireland
. In light of this fact, John Bull's creator, John Arbuthnot, gave John Bull a sister, Peg, to represent the Scots.
is particularly associated with World War I
. The French and the British Commonwealth
armies used the name "Tommy" for the British. "Tommy" is derived from the name Tommy Atkins
which had been used as a generic name for a soldier for many years (and had been used as an example name on British Army
registration forms). The precise origin is the subject of some debate, but it is known to have been used as early as 1743. Rudyard Kipling
published the poem Tommy (part of the Barrack Room Ballads) in 1892 and in 1893 the music hall
song Private Tommy Atkins was published with words by Henry Hamilton and music by S. Potter. In 1898 William McGonagall wrote Lines In Praise of Tommy Atkins.
The paybooks issued to all British soldiers of World War I
used the name "Tommy Atkins" to illustrate how they should be filled in.
is a defunct slang term (along with "lobsterback") for a British soldier. This term applied from the mid-17th century to around 1902 when British Army
soldier
s wore distinctive Venetian Red
coats as part of their formal fighting wear and military dress uniform
s. This term, "redcoat", is often used in a modern sense towards the British in a jovial manner, especially by Americans.
However, the term "redcoat" has become somewhat associated with all Canadian
s because of the distinctive flame-red dress uniform
s of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
(RCMP), which are worn only during ceremonies. This colour was chosen by the Canadians because Native Americans in the Canadian North West were more comfortable dealing with police officers in red uniforms, which they associated with the British Empire, rather than the standard police blue, which was negatively associated with the United States Army.
languages Muzungu
has come to mean any white European but more often than not especially the British or English due to their colonial past in the region.
In one of the Vindolanda tablets
the Latin
pejorative of Brittunculi (wretched little Britons) is used (presumably by a Roman official) in a commentary of their particular military tactics.
In many languages, the equivalent terms for 'English' and 'England' are often used interchangeably with 'British' and 'Britain', and this is also relatively common in many non-British varieties of English. For example in Turkish
'İngiltere' is used for both Britain and England, despite there being a separate word for Britain, 'Britanya'. Welsh people in particular are very often referred to in French as 'Anglais' rather than 'Gallois', in Russian as 'англичанин' Angličanin, and so on. The same occurs rather less frequently in the case of individuals from Scotland and Northern Ireland. Scotland and Ireland remained at least partially separate entities until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries respectively, when the Kingdom of Great Britain
and United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
were formed. However, even these countries may still sometimes be considered to form part of Angleterre or the equivalent. In some languages, as in French, forms like Britannique ('British') are restricted to more official contexts, and tend to be used for governments rather than for individuals. In Assam (became part of British India in 1828), one of the last states to join British India, British are called as Boga Bongal (literally meaning White Foreigners or White Intruders). Bongal was a derogatory word for foreigners and invaders in Assam under Ahom rule and it still is used.
Alternative names for the British
(people from the United Kingdom
) include nicknames and terms, including affectionate ones, neutral ones, and derogatory ones to describe the British people
and more specifically English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish/Irish people.
Limey is a Caribbean
and North America
n slang
nickname
for British people, originally referring to British sailor
s and seamen. This term is believed to derive from lime-juicer, referring to the Royal Navy
and British Merchant Navy practice of supplying rations of lime juice to British sailors to prevent scurvy
. The term "Limey" is thought to have originated in the Caribbean in the 1880s.
An alternate explanation comes from the Limes Britannicus, which was the northern most border of the Roman Empire dividing Scotland and England but it is unlikely that this term was well known in the Caribbean and North America at the time this nickname arose.
A certainly false etymology
is that "Limey" is a derivative of the phrase "Cor blimey
" ("God blind me!").
and in 2010 by the New Zealand Broadcasting Standards Authority
. Despite these changing views, many British people or those of British origin consider the expression offensive or racist when used by people not of British origin to describe English or British people, yet acceptable when used within that community: for example, the community group British People Against Racial Discrimination was among those who complained to the Advertising Standards Board about five advertisements poking fun at "Poms", prompting the 2006 decision.
The origin of this term is not confirmed and there are several persistent false etymologies
. The Oxford English Dictionary
(OED) strongly supports the theory that pommy originated as a contraction of "pomegranate
". The OED also suggests that the reason for this is that pomegranate is extinct Australian rhyming slang for immigrant; it cites an article from 14 November 1912, in a once-prominent Australian weekly magazine The Bulletin
: "The other day a Pummy Grant (assisted immigrant) was handed a bridle and told to catch a horse." A popular alternative explanation for the theory that pommy is a contraction of "pomegranate", relates to the purported frequency of sunburn among British people in Australia, turning their fair skin the colour of pomegranates. However, there is no hard evidence for the theory regarding sunburn. Another unofficial explanation is that P.O.M. stands for 'Prisoner of Millbank ' or that P.O.H.M.E. stands for 'Prisoner of Her Majesty's Exile'. However, the OED states that there is no evidence for these terms or abbreviations being used and that they are an unlikely source. The most viable potability is that the term stands for P.O.M.E. - Prisoner of Mother England Historian Richard Holt maintains the origin of the term comes from English cricket tours of Australia where the English gentlemen amateurs would drink Pommery Champagne in preference to Australian beer.
.
But the original explanation of this French
term is that rosbif referred to the English style of cooking roast beef
, and especially to the song The Roast Beef of Old England
.
In Portugal, the term bife (literally meaning steak
, but sounding like beef) is used as a slang term to refer to the British. There is a feminine form, bifa, mainly used to refer to British female tourists.
the term 'Pom' may also be used, while Afrikaans
speakers use the term rooinek (literally 'red neck', another reference to sunburning).
During the Second Boer War
, they became known as Khaki
s, in reference to the colour of their uniforms - which, by then, was no longer the red coats
so unsuitable to the South African climate.
Another common term in South Africa used mostly by the Afrikaans is Soutie or Sout Piel. This is from the concept that the Brits have one leg in Britain and one leg in South Africa, leaving the penis hanging in the salt water. Sout Piel means Salt Penis (or rather "dick"). However, this term refers more specifically to British people who have settled in South Africa, as they are more likely to be imagined as having one foot in each country than a Briton who is simply visiting as a tourist.
). Angrez, Angrej, Ingraj, Anggrit are versions of French
word Anglais meaning Englishman
.
Ingraj is used in Maharashtra
(Marathi
) and West Bengal
(Bengali
) region of India
to refer to British
people.
Engrez is of Slavic
origin and is sometimes used to refer to British people.
"Engilisi" is of Persian
origin.
Among South Asia
ns, Angrez has the same meaning, although its more specific meaning is Englishman, with Angrezan for an English woman. This is mostly seen as an ethnic, rather than a territorial, term and applied specifically for people of Anglo-Saxon
origin. So people of South Asian origin living in England do not usually refer to themselves as Angrez or Angrezan. Replacing the z with j and j with z is common practice especially amongst people from India
, particularly Indian Punjab
; hence it would be "Angrej" (masculine) and "Angrejan" (female). Pakistanis and especially Urdu speakers always pronounce z and j correctly.
The word Firangi is used in the same sense as Angrez. "Firangi" or Firang is derived from the word "Franks" and arose during the Crusades
, when all invading Christian
s of the Latin Church came to be seen as Franks. It tends to refer to West Europeans and the European diaspora. "Firanghi" is also used in Persian language
and Indian (Sanskrit origin) speaking countries to denote the meaning of "foreigner" or "outsider", generally meaning a "Westerner."
Indian Punjabis
use the term Englandi for any other citizen of England
, including Asian British people, regardless of that person's ancestral ethnicity.
The adjective Gora (Gori for females) is also commonly used amongst South Asia
ns and South Asian British to refer to white Britons, although the term literally translates to "fair-skinned one", and thus could and is applied to individuals of any ethnicity with a fair complexion including south Asians themselves. The adjective has also been used as a noun to describe white people—hence its potential as a racial slur.
Malayalis of Kerala
use the term Sayyip to refer to a male westerner.
The feminine equivalent is Madaamma.
In Thai, the word anggrit (อังกฤษ) is used to described both the English in particular, and the British in general. The terms Scotland and Scot are also used to describe the people, country and whisky of Scotland.
was originally a character created by John Arbuthnot
in 1712 to satirise
the Whig
war party. Later in the 18th century, British satirical artists James Gillray
, Thomas Rowlandson
and George Cruikshank
contrasted the stout and healthy British cartoon character with scrawny French revolutionary
sans-culottes
Jacobins
. During the 19th century the American cartoonist Thomas Nast
also drew John Bull. This character has tended to be more popular in England, and to be more associated with England, than with either, Scotland
, Wales
, or Ireland
. In light of this fact, John Bull's creator, John Arbuthnot, gave John Bull a sister, Peg, to represent the Scots.
is particularly associated with World War I
. The French and the British Commonwealth
armies used the name "Tommy" for the British. "Tommy" is derived from the name Tommy Atkins
which had been used as a generic name for a soldier for many years (and had been used as an example name on British Army
registration forms). The precise origin is the subject of some debate, but it is known to have been used as early as 1743. Rudyard Kipling
published the poem Tommy (part of the Barrack Room Ballads) in 1892 and in 1893 the music hall
song Private Tommy Atkins was published with words by Henry Hamilton and music by S. Potter. In 1898 William McGonagall wrote Lines In Praise of Tommy Atkins.
The paybooks issued to all British soldiers of World War I
used the name "Tommy Atkins" to illustrate how they should be filled in.
is a defunct slang term (along with "lobsterback") for a British soldier. This term applied from the mid-17th century to around 1902 when British Army
soldier
s wore distinctive Venetian Red
coats as part of their formal fighting wear and military dress uniform
s. This term, "redcoat", is often used in a modern sense towards the British in a jovial manner, especially by Americans.
However, the term "redcoat" has become somewhat associated with all Canadian
s because of the distinctive flame-red dress uniform
s of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
(RCMP), which are worn only during ceremonies. This colour was chosen by the Canadians because Native Americans in the Canadian North West were more comfortable dealing with police officers in red uniforms, which they associated with the British Empire, rather than the standard police blue, which was negatively associated with the United States Army.
languages Muzungu
has come to mean any white European but more often than not especially the British or English due to their colonial past in the region.
In one of the Vindolanda tablets
the Latin
pejorative of Brittunculi (wretched little Britons) is used (presumably by a Roman official) in a commentary of their particular military tactics.
In many languages, the equivalent terms for 'English' and 'England' are often used interchangeably with 'British' and 'Britain', and this is also relatively common in many non-British varieties of English. For example in Turkish
'İngiltere' is used for both Britain and England, despite there being a separate word for Britain, 'Britanya'. Welsh people in particular are very often referred to in French as 'Anglais' rather than 'Gallois', in Russian as 'англичанин' Angličanin, and so on. The same occurs rather less frequently in the case of individuals from Scotland and Northern Ireland. Scotland and Ireland remained at least partially separate entities until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries respectively, when the Kingdom of Great Britain
and United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
were formed. However, even these countries may still sometimes be considered to form part of Angleterre or the equivalent. In some languages, as in French, forms like Britannique ('British') are restricted to more official contexts, and tend to be used for governments rather than for individuals. In Assam (became part of British India in 1828), one of the last states to join British India, British are called as Boga Bongal (literally meaning White Foreigners or White Intruders). Bongal was a derogatory word for foreigners and invaders in Assam under Ahom rule and it still is used.
In Polish a common formal term to describe an Englishman is Anglik, or Brytyjczyk for a British. The first one is derived from the Polish word for England Anglia, the latter from a Polish word for Great Britain Wielka Brytania. Derogatory terms for an English/British man coined in the recent years are Angol or Brytol respectively; however, due to its negative connotations they are not used in formal writing or by the media.
In Nepal, the British are often referred to as Kuires/Khaires which means people of white or pale colour. It is also used in general for any Caucasian
person with white skin.
The Malaysia, one common Malay
equivalent is mat salleh. The term may had originated from the general depiction of British colonial sailors who were often drunk (Mad Sailors); due to the inability of locals to pronounce English words correctly, it became mat salleh (Mat and Salleh are both typical Malay names). Another possible origin of the phrase is the Mat Salleh Rebellion
, led by North Borneo
chief Mat Salleh, against the British North Borneo Company
during the late-19th century. Another alternative to mat salleh is orang putih (literally "white people" in Malay) or its shortened rural form, omputih. In ancient Malaccan times, the term orang deringgi was also used.
Chinese
, Japanese
, Korean
and Vietnamese
use terms for Britain/British which are derived from the words "England" and "English". The Japanese word for Britain has its origins in the Portuguese word for English: Inglês became Igirisu.
Although the Chinese Yīngguó (Hanzi
: 英国), Japanese Eikoku (Kanji
: ), Korean Yeongguk (Hangul
: ), and Vietnamese Anh Quốc are all derived from "Eng-" in England, they are used to mean "Britain" and "British", including both Great Britain and UK. They are still used to mean England in unofficial contexts. There are also more formal specific names for the UK, such as the Chinese 聯合王國 Liánhéwángguó and Japanese 連合王国 Rengōōkoku literally meaning "United Kingdom". Separate words exist in all of these languages for each of the constituent parts of the UK, including England, although, as elsewhere, there is little awareness of correct usage. However, sport teams are called by their correct name, as can be seen in any World Cup schedule.
The written form of Yīngguó in Chinese is made up of two characters: 英国. The first 英 (yīng) in Adjective means "outstanding" and "fine",in Noun means "flower", the second is 国 (guó) which means "country", "state" or "kingdom". Originally the adjective word was written as Yīngjílì as an approximation of the adjective word English, and is still used to mean English in the Chinese word for the English Channel Yīng jí lì hǎi xiá. The noun word was written as 英格兰 Ying ge lan for the noun England, also 苏格兰 Su ge lan for Scotland, 爱尔兰 Ai er lan for Ireland and 威尔士 Wei er shi for Wales. Also in history books Great Britain is written 大不列颠 da bu lie dian, from 大 (Great) and the sounds of the words 不列颠 similar to the sound interpretation. The word 英吉利 was given the reading igirisu in Japanese, and the same abbreviation was adopted, eikoku, taking the first character and using the more usual 'Chinese' reading. These days, the word is usually written using katakana
script as Igirisu, although Eikoku is still common. The first character is also used in the word for the English language, 英語 eigo. Additionally, Vietnamese đảo Anh (literally, "English island") means the island of Great Britain
.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
(people from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
) include nicknames and terms, including affectionate ones, neutral ones, and derogatory ones to describe the British people
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
and more specifically English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish/Irish people.
Ang Moh
"Ang Moh" is a term to describe British and other Western nationalities in Malaysia and Singapore. It originates from the Hokkien dialect language referring to the "red hair" British military based in the Straits Settlements after the Second World War.Limey
Limey is a CaribbeanCaribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n slang
Slang
Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...
nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
for British people, originally referring to British sailor
Sailor
A sailor, mariner, or seaman is a person who navigates water-borne vessels or assists in their operation, maintenance, or service. The term can apply to professional mariners, military personnel, and recreational sailors as well as a plethora of other uses...
s and seamen. This term is believed to derive from lime-juicer, referring to the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
and British Merchant Navy practice of supplying rations of lime juice to British sailors to prevent scurvy
Scurvy
Scurvy is a disease resulting from a deficiency of vitamin C, which is required for the synthesis of collagen in humans. The chemical name for vitamin C, ascorbic acid, is derived from the Latin name of scurvy, scorbutus, which also provides the adjective scorbutic...
. The term "Limey" is thought to have originated in the Caribbean in the 1880s.
An alternate explanation comes from the Limes Britannicus, which was the northern most border of the Roman Empire dividing Scotland and England but it is unlikely that this term was well known in the Caribbean and North America at the time this nickname arose.
A certainly false etymology
False etymology
Folk etymology is change in a word or phrase over time resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more familiar one. Unanalyzable borrowings from foreign languages, like asparagus, or old compounds such as samblind which have lost their iconic motivation are...
is that "Limey" is a derivative of the phrase "Cor blimey
Minced oath
A minced oath is an expression based on a profanity or a taboo term that has been altered to reduce the objectionable characteristics.Many languages have such expressions...
" ("God blind me!").
Pommy
The term pommy, pom or pomme, in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, commonly denotes a person of British (usually of English heritage) origin. A derogatory term, it was controversially ruled no longer offensive in 2006 by the Australian Advertising Standards BoardAdvertising Standards Bureau (Australia)
The Advertising Standards Bureau is an Australian organisation that investigates breaches of advertising standards in the Australian media...
and in 2010 by the New Zealand Broadcasting Standards Authority
Broadcasting Standards Authority
The Broadcasting Standards Authority is a New Zealand Crown Entity created by the Broadcasting Act 1989 to develop and uphold standards of broadcasting for radio, free-to-air and pay television.The main functions of the BSA are:...
. Despite these changing views, many British people or those of British origin consider the expression offensive or racist when used by people not of British origin to describe English or British people, yet acceptable when used within that community: for example, the community group British People Against Racial Discrimination was among those who complained to the Advertising Standards Board about five advertisements poking fun at "Poms", prompting the 2006 decision.
The origin of this term is not confirmed and there are several persistent false etymologies
False etymology
Folk etymology is change in a word or phrase over time resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more familiar one. Unanalyzable borrowings from foreign languages, like asparagus, or old compounds such as samblind which have lost their iconic motivation are...
. The Oxford English Dictionary
Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...
(OED) strongly supports the theory that pommy originated as a contraction of "pomegranate
Pomegranate
The pomegranate , Punica granatum, is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing between five and eight meters tall.Native to the area of modern day Iran, the pomegranate has been cultivated in the Caucasus since ancient times. From there it spread to Asian areas such as the Caucasus as...
". The OED also suggests that the reason for this is that pomegranate is extinct Australian rhyming slang for immigrant; it cites an article from 14 November 1912, in a once-prominent Australian weekly magazine The Bulletin
The Bulletin
The Bulletin was an Australian weekly magazine that was published in Sydney from 1880 until January 2008. It was influential in Australian culture and politics from about 1890 until World War I, the period when it was identified with the "Bulletin school" of Australian literature. Its influence...
: "The other day a Pummy Grant (assisted immigrant) was handed a bridle and told to catch a horse." A popular alternative explanation for the theory that pommy is a contraction of "pomegranate", relates to the purported frequency of sunburn among British people in Australia, turning their fair skin the colour of pomegranates. However, there is no hard evidence for the theory regarding sunburn. Another unofficial explanation is that P.O.M. stands for 'Prisoner of Millbank ' or that P.O.H.M.E. stands for 'Prisoner of Her Majesty's Exile'. However, the OED states that there is no evidence for these terms or abbreviations being used and that they are an unlikely source. The most viable potability is that the term stands for P.O.M.E. - Prisoner of Mother England Historian Richard Holt maintains the origin of the term comes from English cricket tours of Australia where the English gentlemen amateurs would drink Pommery Champagne in preference to Australian beer.
Rosbif/Rosbeef
Today, the French enjoy calling the English Rosbifs (ʁɔsbif) due to their tendency to turn bright red from over-exposure to the hot French sun—particularly when holidaying in the warmer climate of Southern FranceSouthern France
Southern France , colloquially known as le Midi is defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Gironde, Spain, the Mediterranean, and Italy...
.
But the original explanation of this French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
term is that rosbif referred to the English style of cooking roast beef
Roast beef
Roast beef is a dish of beef which is roasted in an oven. Essentially prepared as a main meal, the leftovers can be and are often served within sandwiches and sometimes is used to make hash...
, and especially to the song The Roast Beef of Old England
The Roast Beef of Old England
"The Roast Beef of Old England" is an English patriotic ballad. It was written by Henry Fielding for his play The Grub-Street Opera, which was first performed in 1731. The lyrics were added to over the next twenty years...
.
In Portugal, the term bife (literally meaning steak
Steak
A steak is a cut of meat . Most are cut perpendicular to the muscle fibers, improving the perceived tenderness of the meat. In North America, steaks are typically served grilled, pan-fried, or broiled. The more tender cuts from the loin and rib are cooked quickly, using dry heat, and served whole...
, but sounding like beef) is used as a slang term to refer to the British. There is a feminine form, bifa, mainly used to refer to British female tourists.
Rooinek, Khaki, Soutie
In South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
the term 'Pom' may also be used, while Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
speakers use the term rooinek (literally 'red neck', another reference to sunburning).
During the Second Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
, they became known as Khaki
Khaki
This article is about the fabric. For the color, see Khaki . Kaki, another name for the persimmon, is often misspelled "Khaki".Khaki is a type of fabric or the color of such fabric...
s, in reference to the colour of their uniforms - which, by then, was no longer the red coats
Red coat (British army)
Red coat or Redcoat is a historical term used to refer to soldiers of the British Army because of the red uniforms formerly worn by the majority of regiments. From the late 17th century to the early 20th century, the uniform of most British soldiers, , included a madder red coat or coatee...
so unsuitable to the South African climate.
Another common term in South Africa used mostly by the Afrikaans is Soutie or Sout Piel. This is from the concept that the Brits have one leg in Britain and one leg in South Africa, leaving the penis hanging in the salt water. Sout Piel means Salt Penis (or rather "dick"). However, this term refers more specifically to British people who have settled in South Africa, as they are more likely to be imagined as having one foot in each country than a Briton who is simply visiting as a tourist.
Britisher, Angrez, Angrej, Ingraj, Anggrit, Firang, Sayip, Engilisi
The term Britisher is still used in India, and to a lesser extent in the United States, but is largely obsolete elsewhere.. Brit is increasingly used both as a noun and an adjective in the US and elsewhere (as well as in Britain itself), and is an apparent contraction of the full word, Britisher or British (cf BritpopBritpop
Britpop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom. Britpop emerged from the British independent music scene of the early 1990s and was characterised by bands influenced by British guitar pop music of the 1960s and 1970s...
). Angrez, Angrej, Ingraj, Anggrit are versions of French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
word Anglais meaning Englishman
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
.
Ingraj is used in Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
(Marathi
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
) and West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
(Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
) region of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
to refer to British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
people.
Engrez is of Slavic
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
origin and is sometimes used to refer to British people.
"Engilisi" is of Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
origin.
Among South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
ns, Angrez has the same meaning, although its more specific meaning is Englishman, with Angrezan for an English woman. This is mostly seen as an ethnic, rather than a territorial, term and applied specifically for people of Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
origin. So people of South Asian origin living in England do not usually refer to themselves as Angrez or Angrezan. Replacing the z with j and j with z is common practice especially amongst people from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, particularly Indian Punjab
Punjab (India)
Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...
; hence it would be "Angrej" (masculine) and "Angrejan" (female). Pakistanis and especially Urdu speakers always pronounce z and j correctly.
The word Firangi is used in the same sense as Angrez. "Firangi" or Firang is derived from the word "Franks" and arose during the Crusades
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
, when all invading Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s of the Latin Church came to be seen as Franks. It tends to refer to West Europeans and the European diaspora. "Firanghi" is also used in Persian language
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
and Indian (Sanskrit origin) speaking countries to denote the meaning of "foreigner" or "outsider", generally meaning a "Westerner."
Indian Punjabis
Punjabi people
The Punjabi people , ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ), also Panjabi people, are an Indo-Aryan group from South Asia. They are the second largest of the many ethnic groups in South Asia. They originate in the Punjab region, which has been been the location of some of the oldest civilizations in the world including, the...
use the term Englandi for any other citizen of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, including Asian British people, regardless of that person's ancestral ethnicity.
The adjective Gora (Gori for females) is also commonly used amongst South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
ns and South Asian British to refer to white Britons, although the term literally translates to "fair-skinned one", and thus could and is applied to individuals of any ethnicity with a fair complexion including south Asians themselves. The adjective has also been used as a noun to describe white people—hence its potential as a racial slur.
Malayalis of Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
use the term Sayyip to refer to a male westerner.
The feminine equivalent is Madaamma.
In Thai, the word anggrit (อังกฤษ) is used to described both the English in particular, and the British in general. The terms Scotland and Scot are also used to describe the people, country and whisky of Scotland.
John Bull
John BullJohn Bull
John Bull is a national personification of Britain in general and England in particular, especially in political cartoons and similar graphic works. He is usually depicted as a stout, middle-aged man, often wearing a Union Flag waistcoat.-Origin:...
was originally a character created by John Arbuthnot
John Arbuthnot
John Arbuthnot, often known simply as Dr. Arbuthnot, , was a physician, satirist and polymath in London...
in 1712 to satirise
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
the Whig
British Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
war party. Later in the 18th century, British satirical artists James Gillray
James Gillray
James Gillray , was a British caricaturist and printmaker famous for his etched political and social satires, mainly published between 1792 and 1810.- Early life :He was born in Chelsea...
, Thomas Rowlandson
Thomas Rowlandson
Thomas Rowlandson was an English artist and caricaturist.- Biography :Rowlandson was born in Old Jewry, in the City of London. He was the son of a tradesman or city merchant. On leaving school he became a student at the Royal Academy...
and George Cruikshank
George Cruikshank
George Cruikshank was a British caricaturist and book illustrator, praised as the "modern Hogarth" during his life. His book illustrations for his friend Charles Dickens, and many other authors, reached an international audience.-Early life:Cruikshank was born in London...
contrasted the stout and healthy British cartoon character with scrawny French revolutionary
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
sans-culottes
Sans-culottes
In the French Revolution, the sans-culottes were the radical militants of the lower classes, typically urban laborers. Though ill-clad and ill-equipped, they made up the bulk of the Revolutionary army during the early years of the French Revolutionary Wars...
Jacobins
Jacobin (politics)
A Jacobin , in the context of the French Revolution, was a member of the Jacobin Club, a revolutionary far-left political movement. The Jacobin Club was the most famous political club of the French Revolution. So called from the Dominican convent where they originally met, in the Rue St. Jacques ,...
. During the 19th century the American cartoonist Thomas Nast
Thomas Nast
Thomas Nast was a German-born American caricaturist and editorial cartoonist who is considered to be the "Father of the American Cartoon". He was the scourge of Boss Tweed and the Tammany Hall machine...
also drew John Bull. This character has tended to be more popular in England, and to be more associated with England, than with either, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, or Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. In light of this fact, John Bull's creator, John Arbuthnot, gave John Bull a sister, Peg, to represent the Scots.
Tommy
The name Tommy for any soldier in the British ArmyBritish Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
is particularly associated with World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The French and the British Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
armies used the name "Tommy" for the British. "Tommy" is derived from the name Tommy Atkins
Tommy Atkins
Tommy Atkins is a term for a common soldier in the British Army that was already well established in the 19th century, but is particularly associated with World War I. It can be used as a term of reference, or as a form of address. German soldiers would call out to "Tommy" across no man's land if...
which had been used as a generic name for a soldier for many years (and had been used as an example name on British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
registration forms). The precise origin is the subject of some debate, but it is known to have been used as early as 1743. Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
published the poem Tommy (part of the Barrack Room Ballads) in 1892 and in 1893 the music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
song Private Tommy Atkins was published with words by Henry Hamilton and music by S. Potter. In 1898 William McGonagall wrote Lines In Praise of Tommy Atkins.
The paybooks issued to all British soldiers of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
used the name "Tommy Atkins" to illustrate how they should be filled in.
Redcoat
The term RedcoatRed coat (British army)
Red coat or Redcoat is a historical term used to refer to soldiers of the British Army because of the red uniforms formerly worn by the majority of regiments. From the late 17th century to the early 20th century, the uniform of most British soldiers, , included a madder red coat or coatee...
is a defunct slang term (along with "lobsterback") for a British soldier. This term applied from the mid-17th century to around 1902 when British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
s wore distinctive Venetian Red
Venetian red
Venetian red is a light and warm pigment that is a darker shade of scarlet, derived from nearly pure ferric oxide of the hematite type. Modern versions are frequently made with synthetic red iron oxide.-Venetian red:...
coats as part of their formal fighting wear and military dress uniform
Dress uniform
Dress uniform , is the most formal military uniform, typically worn at ceremonies, official receptions, and other special occasions; with order insignias and full size medals...
s. This term, "redcoat", is often used in a modern sense towards the British in a jovial manner, especially by Americans.
However, the term "redcoat" has become somewhat associated with all Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
s because of the distinctive flame-red dress uniform
Dress uniform
Dress uniform , is the most formal military uniform, typically worn at ceremonies, official receptions, and other special occasions; with order insignias and full size medals...
s of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
(RCMP), which are worn only during ceremonies. This colour was chosen by the Canadians because Native Americans in the Canadian North West were more comfortable dealing with police officers in red uniforms, which they associated with the British Empire, rather than the standard police blue, which was negatively associated with the United States Army.
Inselaffen
German for Island Monkeys. British bricklayers in Germany in the 1980s and 1990s were often jovially referred to as "Inselaffen" or "monkeys from the island".Alternative names for English
Some of the terms above used for the British are used for the English in Scotland, Ireland and Wales.- SassenachSassenachSassenach is a word used chiefly by the Scots to designate an Englishman. It derives from the Scottish Gaelic Sasunnach meaning, originally, "Saxon", from the Latin "Saxones"; it was also formerly applied by Highlanders to Lowlanders. As employed by Scots or Scottish English-speakers today it is...
- used to describe the EnglishEnglish peopleThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
, by their immediate neighbours: the ScotsScottish peopleThe Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
, the WelshWelsh peopleThe Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
who use the word Saesneg and the IrishIrish peopleThe Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
. The term is derived from the original name of the Germanic settlers in what is now England - the SaxonsSaxonsThe Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
.
- SaisSAISSAIS can refer to:* Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, part of The Johns Hopkins University.* Sharjah American International School* Southern Association of Independent Schools...
- The Welsh word for Englishman, Saesnes is the female form. The CornishCornish languageCornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
word for an Englishman is "Sows", and the Cornish word for the English language is "Sowsnek".
- les goddamsLes goddamsDuring the Hundred Years' War and many other conflicts between England and France in the Middle Ages, the French came to call the English les goddamns or les goddams after their frequent expletives...
- During the Hundred Years War, the French took to calling the English les goddams because of their frequent use of expletives.
- Left-legger - Although it is traditionally related to a Protestant, it is often also used, traditionally by the IrishIrish peopleThe Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
, towards a British person, usually one from Northern IrelandNorthern IrelandNorthern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
.
Other languages
In the East African BantuBantu languages
The Bantu languages constitute a traditional sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages. There are about 250 Bantu languages by the criterion of mutual intelligibility, though the distinction between language and dialect is often unclear, and Ethnologue counts 535 languages...
languages Muzungu
Muzungu
Mzungu is the southern, central and eastern African term for a person of foreign descent. Literally translated it means "someone who roams around aimlessly" or "aimless wanderer". The term was first used by Africans to describe early European explorers...
has come to mean any white European but more often than not especially the British or English due to their colonial past in the region.
In one of the Vindolanda tablets
Vindolanda tablets
The Vindolanda tablets are "the oldest surviving handwritten documents in Britain". They are also probably our best source of information about life on Hadrian's Wall. Written on fragments of thin, post-card sized wooden leaf-tablets with carbon-based ink, the tablets date to the 1st and 2nd...
the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
pejorative of Brittunculi (wretched little Britons) is used (presumably by a Roman official) in a commentary of their particular military tactics.
In many languages, the equivalent terms for 'English' and 'England' are often used interchangeably with 'British' and 'Britain', and this is also relatively common in many non-British varieties of English. For example in Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
'İngiltere' is used for both Britain and England, despite there being a separate word for Britain, 'Britanya'. Welsh people in particular are very often referred to in French as 'Anglais' rather than 'Gallois', in Russian as 'англичанин' Angličanin, and so on. The same occurs rather less frequently in the case of individuals from Scotland and Northern Ireland. Scotland and Ireland remained at least partially separate entities until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries respectively, when the Kingdom of Great Britain
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
and United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
were formed. However, even these countries may still sometimes be considered to form part of Angleterre or the equivalent. In some languages, as in French, forms like Britannique ('British') are restricted to more official contexts, and tend to be used for governments rather than for individuals. In Assam (became part of British India in 1828), one of the last states to join British India, British are called as Boga Bongal (literally meaning White Foreigners or White Intruders). Bongal was a derogatory word for foreigners and invaders in Assam under Ahom rule and it still is used.
Alternative names for the British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
(people from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
) include nicknames and terms, including affectionate ones, neutral ones, and derogatory ones to describe the British people
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
and more specifically English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish/Irish people.
Ang Moh
"Ang Moh" is a term to describe British and other Western nationalities in Malaysia and Singapore. It originates from the Hokkien dialect language referring to the "red hair" British military based in the Straits Settlements after the Second World War.Limey
Limey is a Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n slang
Slang
Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...
nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
for British people, originally referring to British sailor
Sailor
A sailor, mariner, or seaman is a person who navigates water-borne vessels or assists in their operation, maintenance, or service. The term can apply to professional mariners, military personnel, and recreational sailors as well as a plethora of other uses...
s and seamen. This term is believed to derive from lime-juicer, referring to the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
and British Merchant Navy practice of supplying rations of lime juice to British sailors to prevent scurvy
Scurvy
Scurvy is a disease resulting from a deficiency of vitamin C, which is required for the synthesis of collagen in humans. The chemical name for vitamin C, ascorbic acid, is derived from the Latin name of scurvy, scorbutus, which also provides the adjective scorbutic...
. The term "Limey" is thought to have originated in the Caribbean in the 1880s.
An alternate explanation comes from the Limes Britannicus, which was the northern most border of the Roman Empire dividing Scotland and England but it is unlikely that this term was well known in the Caribbean and North America at the time this nickname arose.
A certainly false etymology
False etymology
Folk etymology is change in a word or phrase over time resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more familiar one. Unanalyzable borrowings from foreign languages, like asparagus, or old compounds such as samblind which have lost their iconic motivation are...
is that "Limey" is a derivative of the phrase "Cor blimey
Minced oath
A minced oath is an expression based on a profanity or a taboo term that has been altered to reduce the objectionable characteristics.Many languages have such expressions...
" ("God blind me!").
Pommy
The term pommy, pom or pomme, in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, commonly denotes a person of British (usually of English heritage) origin. A derogatory term, it was controversially ruled no longer offensive in 2006 by the Australian Advertising Standards BoardAdvertising Standards Bureau (Australia)
The Advertising Standards Bureau is an Australian organisation that investigates breaches of advertising standards in the Australian media...
and in 2010 by the New Zealand Broadcasting Standards Authority
Broadcasting Standards Authority
The Broadcasting Standards Authority is a New Zealand Crown Entity created by the Broadcasting Act 1989 to develop and uphold standards of broadcasting for radio, free-to-air and pay television.The main functions of the BSA are:...
. Despite these changing views, many British people or those of British origin consider the expression offensive or racist when used by people not of British origin to describe English or British people, yet acceptable when used within that community: for example, the community group British People Against Racial Discrimination was among those who complained to the Advertising Standards Board about five advertisements poking fun at "Poms", prompting the 2006 decision.
The origin of this term is not confirmed and there are several persistent false etymologies
False etymology
Folk etymology is change in a word or phrase over time resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more familiar one. Unanalyzable borrowings from foreign languages, like asparagus, or old compounds such as samblind which have lost their iconic motivation are...
. The Oxford English Dictionary
Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...
(OED) strongly supports the theory that pommy originated as a contraction of "pomegranate
Pomegranate
The pomegranate , Punica granatum, is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing between five and eight meters tall.Native to the area of modern day Iran, the pomegranate has been cultivated in the Caucasus since ancient times. From there it spread to Asian areas such as the Caucasus as...
". The OED also suggests that the reason for this is that pomegranate is extinct Australian rhyming slang for immigrant; it cites an article from 14 November 1912, in a once-prominent Australian weekly magazine The Bulletin
The Bulletin
The Bulletin was an Australian weekly magazine that was published in Sydney from 1880 until January 2008. It was influential in Australian culture and politics from about 1890 until World War I, the period when it was identified with the "Bulletin school" of Australian literature. Its influence...
: "The other day a Pummy Grant (assisted immigrant) was handed a bridle and told to catch a horse." A popular alternative explanation for the theory that pommy is a contraction of "pomegranate", relates to the purported frequency of sunburn among British people in Australia, turning their fair skin the colour of pomegranates. However, there is no hard evidence for the theory regarding sunburn. Another unofficial explanation is that P.O.M. stands for 'Prisoner of Millbank ' or that P.O.H.M.E. stands for 'Prisoner of Her Majesty's Exile'. However, the OED states that there is no evidence for these terms or abbreviations being used and that they are an unlikely source. The most viable potability is that the term stands for P.O.M.E. - Prisoner of Mother England Historian Richard Holt maintains the origin of the term comes from English cricket tours of Australia where the English gentlemen amateurs would drink Pommery Champagne in preference to Australian beer.
Rosbif/Rosbeef
Today, the French enjoy calling the English Rosbifs (ʁɔsbif) due to their tendency to turn bright red from over-exposure to the hot French sun—particularly when holidaying in the warmer climate of Southern FranceSouthern France
Southern France , colloquially known as le Midi is defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Gironde, Spain, the Mediterranean, and Italy...
.
But the original explanation of this French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
term is that rosbif referred to the English style of cooking roast beef
Roast beef
Roast beef is a dish of beef which is roasted in an oven. Essentially prepared as a main meal, the leftovers can be and are often served within sandwiches and sometimes is used to make hash...
, and especially to the song The Roast Beef of Old England
The Roast Beef of Old England
"The Roast Beef of Old England" is an English patriotic ballad. It was written by Henry Fielding for his play The Grub-Street Opera, which was first performed in 1731. The lyrics were added to over the next twenty years...
.
In Portugal, the term bife (literally meaning steak
Steak
A steak is a cut of meat . Most are cut perpendicular to the muscle fibers, improving the perceived tenderness of the meat. In North America, steaks are typically served grilled, pan-fried, or broiled. The more tender cuts from the loin and rib are cooked quickly, using dry heat, and served whole...
, but sounding like beef) is used as a slang term to refer to the British. There is a feminine form, bifa, mainly used to refer to British female tourists.
Rooinek, Khaki, Soutie
In South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
the term 'Pom' may also be used, while Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
speakers use the term rooinek (literally 'red neck', another reference to sunburning).
During the Second Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
, they became known as Khaki
Khaki
This article is about the fabric. For the color, see Khaki . Kaki, another name for the persimmon, is often misspelled "Khaki".Khaki is a type of fabric or the color of such fabric...
s, in reference to the colour of their uniforms - which, by then, was no longer the red coats
Red coat (British army)
Red coat or Redcoat is a historical term used to refer to soldiers of the British Army because of the red uniforms formerly worn by the majority of regiments. From the late 17th century to the early 20th century, the uniform of most British soldiers, , included a madder red coat or coatee...
so unsuitable to the South African climate.
Another common term in South Africa used mostly by the Afrikaans is Soutie or Sout Piel. This is from the concept that the Brits have one leg in Britain and one leg in South Africa, leaving the penis hanging in the salt water. Sout Piel means Salt Penis (or rather "dick"). However, this term refers more specifically to British people who have settled in South Africa, as they are more likely to be imagined as having one foot in each country than a Briton who is simply visiting as a tourist.
Britisher, Angrez, Angrej, Ingraj, Anggrit, Firang, Sayip, Engilisi
The term Britisher is still used in India, and to a lesser extent in the United States, but is largely obsolete elsewhere.. Brit is increasingly used both as a noun and an adjective in the US and elsewhere (as well as in Britain itself), and is an apparent contraction of the full word, Britisher or British (cf BritpopBritpop
Britpop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom. Britpop emerged from the British independent music scene of the early 1990s and was characterised by bands influenced by British guitar pop music of the 1960s and 1970s...
). Angrez, Angrej, Ingraj, Anggrit are versions of French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
word Anglais meaning Englishman
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
.
Ingraj is used in Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
(Marathi
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
) and West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
(Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
) region of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
to refer to British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
people.
Engrez is of Slavic
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
origin and is sometimes used to refer to British people.
"Engilisi" is of Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
origin.
Among South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
ns, Angrez has the same meaning, although its more specific meaning is Englishman, with Angrezan for an English woman. This is mostly seen as an ethnic, rather than a territorial, term and applied specifically for people of Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
origin. So people of South Asian origin living in England do not usually refer to themselves as Angrez or Angrezan. Replacing the z with j and j with z is common practice especially amongst people from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, particularly Indian Punjab
Punjab (India)
Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...
; hence it would be "Angrej" (masculine) and "Angrejan" (female). Pakistanis and especially Urdu speakers always pronounce z and j correctly.
The word Firangi is used in the same sense as Angrez. "Firangi" or Firang is derived from the word "Franks" and arose during the Crusades
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
, when all invading Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s of the Latin Church came to be seen as Franks. It tends to refer to West Europeans and the European diaspora. "Firanghi" is also used in Persian language
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
and Indian (Sanskrit origin) speaking countries to denote the meaning of "foreigner" or "outsider", generally meaning a "Westerner."
Indian Punjabis
Punjabi people
The Punjabi people , ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ), also Panjabi people, are an Indo-Aryan group from South Asia. They are the second largest of the many ethnic groups in South Asia. They originate in the Punjab region, which has been been the location of some of the oldest civilizations in the world including, the...
use the term Englandi for any other citizen of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, including Asian British people, regardless of that person's ancestral ethnicity.
The adjective Gora (Gori for females) is also commonly used amongst South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
ns and South Asian British to refer to white Britons, although the term literally translates to "fair-skinned one", and thus could and is applied to individuals of any ethnicity with a fair complexion including south Asians themselves. The adjective has also been used as a noun to describe white people—hence its potential as a racial slur.
Malayalis of Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
use the term Sayyip to refer to a male westerner.
The feminine equivalent is Madaamma.
In Thai, the word anggrit (อังกฤษ) is used to described both the English in particular, and the British in general. The terms Scotland and Scot are also used to describe the people, country and whisky of Scotland.
John Bull
John BullJohn Bull
John Bull is a national personification of Britain in general and England in particular, especially in political cartoons and similar graphic works. He is usually depicted as a stout, middle-aged man, often wearing a Union Flag waistcoat.-Origin:...
was originally a character created by John Arbuthnot
John Arbuthnot
John Arbuthnot, often known simply as Dr. Arbuthnot, , was a physician, satirist and polymath in London...
in 1712 to satirise
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
the Whig
British Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
war party. Later in the 18th century, British satirical artists James Gillray
James Gillray
James Gillray , was a British caricaturist and printmaker famous for his etched political and social satires, mainly published between 1792 and 1810.- Early life :He was born in Chelsea...
, Thomas Rowlandson
Thomas Rowlandson
Thomas Rowlandson was an English artist and caricaturist.- Biography :Rowlandson was born in Old Jewry, in the City of London. He was the son of a tradesman or city merchant. On leaving school he became a student at the Royal Academy...
and George Cruikshank
George Cruikshank
George Cruikshank was a British caricaturist and book illustrator, praised as the "modern Hogarth" during his life. His book illustrations for his friend Charles Dickens, and many other authors, reached an international audience.-Early life:Cruikshank was born in London...
contrasted the stout and healthy British cartoon character with scrawny French revolutionary
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
sans-culottes
Sans-culottes
In the French Revolution, the sans-culottes were the radical militants of the lower classes, typically urban laborers. Though ill-clad and ill-equipped, they made up the bulk of the Revolutionary army during the early years of the French Revolutionary Wars...
Jacobins
Jacobin (politics)
A Jacobin , in the context of the French Revolution, was a member of the Jacobin Club, a revolutionary far-left political movement. The Jacobin Club was the most famous political club of the French Revolution. So called from the Dominican convent where they originally met, in the Rue St. Jacques ,...
. During the 19th century the American cartoonist Thomas Nast
Thomas Nast
Thomas Nast was a German-born American caricaturist and editorial cartoonist who is considered to be the "Father of the American Cartoon". He was the scourge of Boss Tweed and the Tammany Hall machine...
also drew John Bull. This character has tended to be more popular in England, and to be more associated with England, than with either, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, or Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. In light of this fact, John Bull's creator, John Arbuthnot, gave John Bull a sister, Peg, to represent the Scots.
Tommy
The name Tommy for any soldier in the British ArmyBritish Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
is particularly associated with World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The French and the British Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
armies used the name "Tommy" for the British. "Tommy" is derived from the name Tommy Atkins
Tommy Atkins
Tommy Atkins is a term for a common soldier in the British Army that was already well established in the 19th century, but is particularly associated with World War I. It can be used as a term of reference, or as a form of address. German soldiers would call out to "Tommy" across no man's land if...
which had been used as a generic name for a soldier for many years (and had been used as an example name on British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
registration forms). The precise origin is the subject of some debate, but it is known to have been used as early as 1743. Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
published the poem Tommy (part of the Barrack Room Ballads) in 1892 and in 1893 the music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
song Private Tommy Atkins was published with words by Henry Hamilton and music by S. Potter. In 1898 William McGonagall wrote Lines In Praise of Tommy Atkins.
The paybooks issued to all British soldiers of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
used the name "Tommy Atkins" to illustrate how they should be filled in.
Redcoat
The term RedcoatRed coat (British army)
Red coat or Redcoat is a historical term used to refer to soldiers of the British Army because of the red uniforms formerly worn by the majority of regiments. From the late 17th century to the early 20th century, the uniform of most British soldiers, , included a madder red coat or coatee...
is a defunct slang term (along with "lobsterback") for a British soldier. This term applied from the mid-17th century to around 1902 when British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
s wore distinctive Venetian Red
Venetian red
Venetian red is a light and warm pigment that is a darker shade of scarlet, derived from nearly pure ferric oxide of the hematite type. Modern versions are frequently made with synthetic red iron oxide.-Venetian red:...
coats as part of their formal fighting wear and military dress uniform
Dress uniform
Dress uniform , is the most formal military uniform, typically worn at ceremonies, official receptions, and other special occasions; with order insignias and full size medals...
s. This term, "redcoat", is often used in a modern sense towards the British in a jovial manner, especially by Americans.
However, the term "redcoat" has become somewhat associated with all Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
s because of the distinctive flame-red dress uniform
Dress uniform
Dress uniform , is the most formal military uniform, typically worn at ceremonies, official receptions, and other special occasions; with order insignias and full size medals...
s of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
(RCMP), which are worn only during ceremonies. This colour was chosen by the Canadians because Native Americans in the Canadian North West were more comfortable dealing with police officers in red uniforms, which they associated with the British Empire, rather than the standard police blue, which was negatively associated with the United States Army.
Inselaffen
German for Island Monkeys. British bricklayers in Germany in the 1980s and 1990s were often jovially referred to as "Inselaffen" or "monkeys from the island".Alternative names for English
Some of the terms above used for the British are used for the English in Scotland, Ireland and Wales.- SassenachSassenachSassenach is a word used chiefly by the Scots to designate an Englishman. It derives from the Scottish Gaelic Sasunnach meaning, originally, "Saxon", from the Latin "Saxones"; it was also formerly applied by Highlanders to Lowlanders. As employed by Scots or Scottish English-speakers today it is...
- used to describe the EnglishEnglish peopleThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
, by their immediate neighbours: the ScotsScottish peopleThe Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
, the WelshWelsh peopleThe Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
who use the word Saesneg and the IrishIrish peopleThe Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
. The term is derived from the original name of the Germanic settlers in what is now England - the SaxonsSaxonsThe Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
.
- SaisSAISSAIS can refer to:* Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, part of The Johns Hopkins University.* Sharjah American International School* Southern Association of Independent Schools...
- The Welsh word for Englishman, Saesnes is the female form. The CornishCornish languageCornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
word for an Englishman is "Sows", and the Cornish word for the English language is "Sowsnek".
- les goddamsLes goddamsDuring the Hundred Years' War and many other conflicts between England and France in the Middle Ages, the French came to call the English les goddamns or les goddams after their frequent expletives...
- During the Hundred Years War, the French took to calling the English les goddams because of their frequent use of expletives.
- Left-legger - Although it is traditionally related to a Protestant, it is often also used, traditionally by the IrishIrish peopleThe Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
, towards a British person, usually one from Northern IrelandNorthern IrelandNorthern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
.
Other languages
In the East African BantuBantu languages
The Bantu languages constitute a traditional sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages. There are about 250 Bantu languages by the criterion of mutual intelligibility, though the distinction between language and dialect is often unclear, and Ethnologue counts 535 languages...
languages Muzungu
Muzungu
Mzungu is the southern, central and eastern African term for a person of foreign descent. Literally translated it means "someone who roams around aimlessly" or "aimless wanderer". The term was first used by Africans to describe early European explorers...
has come to mean any white European but more often than not especially the British or English due to their colonial past in the region.
In one of the Vindolanda tablets
Vindolanda tablets
The Vindolanda tablets are "the oldest surviving handwritten documents in Britain". They are also probably our best source of information about life on Hadrian's Wall. Written on fragments of thin, post-card sized wooden leaf-tablets with carbon-based ink, the tablets date to the 1st and 2nd...
the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
pejorative of Brittunculi (wretched little Britons) is used (presumably by a Roman official) in a commentary of their particular military tactics.
In many languages, the equivalent terms for 'English' and 'England' are often used interchangeably with 'British' and 'Britain', and this is also relatively common in many non-British varieties of English. For example in Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
'İngiltere' is used for both Britain and England, despite there being a separate word for Britain, 'Britanya'. Welsh people in particular are very often referred to in French as 'Anglais' rather than 'Gallois', in Russian as 'англичанин' Angličanin, and so on. The same occurs rather less frequently in the case of individuals from Scotland and Northern Ireland. Scotland and Ireland remained at least partially separate entities until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries respectively, when the Kingdom of Great Britain
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
and United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
were formed. However, even these countries may still sometimes be considered to form part of Angleterre or the equivalent. In some languages, as in French, forms like Britannique ('British') are restricted to more official contexts, and tend to be used for governments rather than for individuals. In Assam (became part of British India in 1828), one of the last states to join British India, British are called as Boga Bongal (literally meaning White Foreigners or White Intruders). Bongal was a derogatory word for foreigners and invaders in Assam under Ahom rule and it still is used.
Alternative names for the British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
(people from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
) include nicknames and terms, including affectionate ones, neutral ones, and derogatory ones to describe the British people
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
and more specifically English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish/Irish people.
Ang Moh
"Ang Moh" is a term to describe British and other Western nationalities in Malaysia and Singapore. It originates from the Hokkien dialect language referring to the "red hair" British military based in the Straits Settlements after the Second World War.Limey
Limey is a Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n slang
Slang
Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...
nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
for British people, originally referring to British sailor
Sailor
A sailor, mariner, or seaman is a person who navigates water-borne vessels or assists in their operation, maintenance, or service. The term can apply to professional mariners, military personnel, and recreational sailors as well as a plethora of other uses...
s and seamen. This term is believed to derive from lime-juicer, referring to the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
and British Merchant Navy practice of supplying rations of lime juice to British sailors to prevent scurvy
Scurvy
Scurvy is a disease resulting from a deficiency of vitamin C, which is required for the synthesis of collagen in humans. The chemical name for vitamin C, ascorbic acid, is derived from the Latin name of scurvy, scorbutus, which also provides the adjective scorbutic...
. The term "Limey" is thought to have originated in the Caribbean in the 1880s.
An alternate explanation comes from the Limes Britannicus, which was the northern most border of the Roman Empire dividing Scotland and England but it is unlikely that this term was well known in the Caribbean and North America at the time this nickname arose.
A certainly false etymology
False etymology
Folk etymology is change in a word or phrase over time resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more familiar one. Unanalyzable borrowings from foreign languages, like asparagus, or old compounds such as samblind which have lost their iconic motivation are...
is that "Limey" is a derivative of the phrase "Cor blimey
Minced oath
A minced oath is an expression based on a profanity or a taboo term that has been altered to reduce the objectionable characteristics.Many languages have such expressions...
" ("God blind me!").
Pommy
The term pommy, pom or pomme, in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, commonly denotes a person of British (usually of English heritage) origin. A derogatory term, it was controversially ruled no longer offensive in 2006 by the Australian Advertising Standards BoardAdvertising Standards Bureau (Australia)
The Advertising Standards Bureau is an Australian organisation that investigates breaches of advertising standards in the Australian media...
and in 2010 by the New Zealand Broadcasting Standards Authority
Broadcasting Standards Authority
The Broadcasting Standards Authority is a New Zealand Crown Entity created by the Broadcasting Act 1989 to develop and uphold standards of broadcasting for radio, free-to-air and pay television.The main functions of the BSA are:...
. Despite these changing views, many British people or those of British origin consider the expression offensive or racist when used by people not of British origin to describe English or British people, yet acceptable when used within that community: for example, the community group British People Against Racial Discrimination was among those who complained to the Advertising Standards Board about five advertisements poking fun at "Poms", prompting the 2006 decision.
The origin of this term is not confirmed and there are several persistent false etymologies
False etymology
Folk etymology is change in a word or phrase over time resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more familiar one. Unanalyzable borrowings from foreign languages, like asparagus, or old compounds such as samblind which have lost their iconic motivation are...
. The Oxford English Dictionary
Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...
(OED) strongly supports the theory that pommy originated as a contraction of "pomegranate
Pomegranate
The pomegranate , Punica granatum, is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing between five and eight meters tall.Native to the area of modern day Iran, the pomegranate has been cultivated in the Caucasus since ancient times. From there it spread to Asian areas such as the Caucasus as...
". The OED also suggests that the reason for this is that pomegranate is extinct Australian rhyming slang for immigrant; it cites an article from 14 November 1912, in a once-prominent Australian weekly magazine The Bulletin
The Bulletin
The Bulletin was an Australian weekly magazine that was published in Sydney from 1880 until January 2008. It was influential in Australian culture and politics from about 1890 until World War I, the period when it was identified with the "Bulletin school" of Australian literature. Its influence...
: "The other day a Pummy Grant (assisted immigrant) was handed a bridle and told to catch a horse." A popular alternative explanation for the theory that pommy is a contraction of "pomegranate", relates to the purported frequency of sunburn among British people in Australia, turning their fair skin the colour of pomegranates. However, there is no hard evidence for the theory regarding sunburn. Another unofficial explanation is that P.O.M. stands for 'Prisoner of Millbank ' or that P.O.H.M.E. stands for 'Prisoner of Her Majesty's Exile'. However, the OED states that there is no evidence for these terms or abbreviations being used and that they are an unlikely source. The most viable potability is that the term stands for P.O.M.E. - Prisoner of Mother England Historian Richard Holt maintains the origin of the term comes from English cricket tours of Australia where the English gentlemen amateurs would drink Pommery Champagne in preference to Australian beer.
Rosbif/Rosbeef
Today, the French enjoy calling the English Rosbifs (ʁɔsbif) due to their tendency to turn bright red from over-exposure to the hot French sun—particularly when holidaying in the warmer climate of Southern FranceSouthern France
Southern France , colloquially known as le Midi is defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Gironde, Spain, the Mediterranean, and Italy...
.
But the original explanation of this French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
term is that rosbif referred to the English style of cooking roast beef
Roast beef
Roast beef is a dish of beef which is roasted in an oven. Essentially prepared as a main meal, the leftovers can be and are often served within sandwiches and sometimes is used to make hash...
, and especially to the song The Roast Beef of Old England
The Roast Beef of Old England
"The Roast Beef of Old England" is an English patriotic ballad. It was written by Henry Fielding for his play The Grub-Street Opera, which was first performed in 1731. The lyrics were added to over the next twenty years...
.
In Portugal, the term bife (literally meaning steak
Steak
A steak is a cut of meat . Most are cut perpendicular to the muscle fibers, improving the perceived tenderness of the meat. In North America, steaks are typically served grilled, pan-fried, or broiled. The more tender cuts from the loin and rib are cooked quickly, using dry heat, and served whole...
, but sounding like beef) is used as a slang term to refer to the British. There is a feminine form, bifa, mainly used to refer to British female tourists.
Rooinek, Khaki, Soutie
In South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
the term 'Pom' may also be used, while Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
speakers use the term rooinek (literally 'red neck', another reference to sunburning).
During the Second Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
, they became known as Khaki
Khaki
This article is about the fabric. For the color, see Khaki . Kaki, another name for the persimmon, is often misspelled "Khaki".Khaki is a type of fabric or the color of such fabric...
s, in reference to the colour of their uniforms - which, by then, was no longer the red coats
Red coat (British army)
Red coat or Redcoat is a historical term used to refer to soldiers of the British Army because of the red uniforms formerly worn by the majority of regiments. From the late 17th century to the early 20th century, the uniform of most British soldiers, , included a madder red coat or coatee...
so unsuitable to the South African climate.
Another common term in South Africa used mostly by the Afrikaans is Soutie or Sout Piel. This is from the concept that the Brits have one leg in Britain and one leg in South Africa, leaving the penis hanging in the salt water. Sout Piel means Salt Penis (or rather "dick"). However, this term refers more specifically to British people who have settled in South Africa, as they are more likely to be imagined as having one foot in each country than a Briton who is simply visiting as a tourist.
Britisher, Angrez, Angrej, Ingraj, Anggrit, Firang, Sayip, Engilisi
The term Britisher is still used in India, and to a lesser extent in the United States, but is largely obsolete elsewhere.. Brit is increasingly used both as a noun and an adjective in the US and elsewhere (as well as in Britain itself), and is an apparent contraction of the full word, Britisher or British (cf BritpopBritpop
Britpop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom. Britpop emerged from the British independent music scene of the early 1990s and was characterised by bands influenced by British guitar pop music of the 1960s and 1970s...
). Angrez, Angrej, Ingraj, Anggrit are versions of French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
word Anglais meaning Englishman
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
.
Ingraj is used in Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
(Marathi
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
) and West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
(Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
) region of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
to refer to British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
people.
Engrez is of Slavic
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
origin and is sometimes used to refer to British people.
"Engilisi" is of Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
origin.
Among South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
ns, Angrez has the same meaning, although its more specific meaning is Englishman, with Angrezan for an English woman. This is mostly seen as an ethnic, rather than a territorial, term and applied specifically for people of Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
origin. So people of South Asian origin living in England do not usually refer to themselves as Angrez or Angrezan. Replacing the z with j and j with z is common practice especially amongst people from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, particularly Indian Punjab
Punjab (India)
Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...
; hence it would be "Angrej" (masculine) and "Angrejan" (female). Pakistanis and especially Urdu speakers always pronounce z and j correctly.
The word Firangi is used in the same sense as Angrez. "Firangi" or Firang is derived from the word "Franks" and arose during the Crusades
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
, when all invading Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s of the Latin Church came to be seen as Franks. It tends to refer to West Europeans and the European diaspora. "Firanghi" is also used in Persian language
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
and Indian (Sanskrit origin) speaking countries to denote the meaning of "foreigner" or "outsider", generally meaning a "Westerner."
Indian Punjabis
Punjabi people
The Punjabi people , ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ), also Panjabi people, are an Indo-Aryan group from South Asia. They are the second largest of the many ethnic groups in South Asia. They originate in the Punjab region, which has been been the location of some of the oldest civilizations in the world including, the...
use the term Englandi for any other citizen of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, including Asian British people, regardless of that person's ancestral ethnicity.
The adjective Gora (Gori for females) is also commonly used amongst South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
ns and South Asian British to refer to white Britons, although the term literally translates to "fair-skinned one", and thus could and is applied to individuals of any ethnicity with a fair complexion including south Asians themselves. The adjective has also been used as a noun to describe white people—hence its potential as a racial slur.
Malayalis of Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
use the term Sayyip to refer to a male westerner.
The feminine equivalent is Madaamma.
In Thai, the word anggrit (อังกฤษ) is used to described both the English in particular, and the British in general. The terms Scotland and Scot are also used to describe the people, country and whisky of Scotland.
John Bull
John BullJohn Bull
John Bull is a national personification of Britain in general and England in particular, especially in political cartoons and similar graphic works. He is usually depicted as a stout, middle-aged man, often wearing a Union Flag waistcoat.-Origin:...
was originally a character created by John Arbuthnot
John Arbuthnot
John Arbuthnot, often known simply as Dr. Arbuthnot, , was a physician, satirist and polymath in London...
in 1712 to satirise
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
the Whig
British Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
war party. Later in the 18th century, British satirical artists James Gillray
James Gillray
James Gillray , was a British caricaturist and printmaker famous for his etched political and social satires, mainly published between 1792 and 1810.- Early life :He was born in Chelsea...
, Thomas Rowlandson
Thomas Rowlandson
Thomas Rowlandson was an English artist and caricaturist.- Biography :Rowlandson was born in Old Jewry, in the City of London. He was the son of a tradesman or city merchant. On leaving school he became a student at the Royal Academy...
and George Cruikshank
George Cruikshank
George Cruikshank was a British caricaturist and book illustrator, praised as the "modern Hogarth" during his life. His book illustrations for his friend Charles Dickens, and many other authors, reached an international audience.-Early life:Cruikshank was born in London...
contrasted the stout and healthy British cartoon character with scrawny French revolutionary
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
sans-culottes
Sans-culottes
In the French Revolution, the sans-culottes were the radical militants of the lower classes, typically urban laborers. Though ill-clad and ill-equipped, they made up the bulk of the Revolutionary army during the early years of the French Revolutionary Wars...
Jacobins
Jacobin (politics)
A Jacobin , in the context of the French Revolution, was a member of the Jacobin Club, a revolutionary far-left political movement. The Jacobin Club was the most famous political club of the French Revolution. So called from the Dominican convent where they originally met, in the Rue St. Jacques ,...
. During the 19th century the American cartoonist Thomas Nast
Thomas Nast
Thomas Nast was a German-born American caricaturist and editorial cartoonist who is considered to be the "Father of the American Cartoon". He was the scourge of Boss Tweed and the Tammany Hall machine...
also drew John Bull. This character has tended to be more popular in England, and to be more associated with England, than with either, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, or Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. In light of this fact, John Bull's creator, John Arbuthnot, gave John Bull a sister, Peg, to represent the Scots.
Tommy
The name Tommy for any soldier in the British ArmyBritish Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
is particularly associated with World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The French and the British Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
armies used the name "Tommy" for the British. "Tommy" is derived from the name Tommy Atkins
Tommy Atkins
Tommy Atkins is a term for a common soldier in the British Army that was already well established in the 19th century, but is particularly associated with World War I. It can be used as a term of reference, or as a form of address. German soldiers would call out to "Tommy" across no man's land if...
which had been used as a generic name for a soldier for many years (and had been used as an example name on British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
registration forms). The precise origin is the subject of some debate, but it is known to have been used as early as 1743. Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
published the poem Tommy (part of the Barrack Room Ballads) in 1892 and in 1893 the music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
song Private Tommy Atkins was published with words by Henry Hamilton and music by S. Potter. In 1898 William McGonagall wrote Lines In Praise of Tommy Atkins.
The paybooks issued to all British soldiers of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
used the name "Tommy Atkins" to illustrate how they should be filled in.
Redcoat
The term RedcoatRed coat (British army)
Red coat or Redcoat is a historical term used to refer to soldiers of the British Army because of the red uniforms formerly worn by the majority of regiments. From the late 17th century to the early 20th century, the uniform of most British soldiers, , included a madder red coat or coatee...
is a defunct slang term (along with "lobsterback") for a British soldier. This term applied from the mid-17th century to around 1902 when British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
s wore distinctive Venetian Red
Venetian red
Venetian red is a light and warm pigment that is a darker shade of scarlet, derived from nearly pure ferric oxide of the hematite type. Modern versions are frequently made with synthetic red iron oxide.-Venetian red:...
coats as part of their formal fighting wear and military dress uniform
Dress uniform
Dress uniform , is the most formal military uniform, typically worn at ceremonies, official receptions, and other special occasions; with order insignias and full size medals...
s. This term, "redcoat", is often used in a modern sense towards the British in a jovial manner, especially by Americans.
However, the term "redcoat" has become somewhat associated with all Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
s because of the distinctive flame-red dress uniform
Dress uniform
Dress uniform , is the most formal military uniform, typically worn at ceremonies, official receptions, and other special occasions; with order insignias and full size medals...
s of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
(RCMP), which are worn only during ceremonies. This colour was chosen by the Canadians because Native Americans in the Canadian North West were more comfortable dealing with police officers in red uniforms, which they associated with the British Empire, rather than the standard police blue, which was negatively associated with the United States Army.
Inselaffen
German for Island Monkeys. British bricklayers in Germany in the 1980s and 1990s were often jovially referred to as "Inselaffen" or "monkeys from the island".Alternative names for English
Some of the terms above used for the British are used for the English in Scotland, Ireland and Wales.- SassenachSassenachSassenach is a word used chiefly by the Scots to designate an Englishman. It derives from the Scottish Gaelic Sasunnach meaning, originally, "Saxon", from the Latin "Saxones"; it was also formerly applied by Highlanders to Lowlanders. As employed by Scots or Scottish English-speakers today it is...
- used to describe the EnglishEnglish peopleThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
, by their immediate neighbours: the ScotsScottish peopleThe Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
, the WelshWelsh peopleThe Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
who use the word Saesneg and the IrishIrish peopleThe Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
. The term is derived from the original name of the Germanic settlers in what is now England - the SaxonsSaxonsThe Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
.
- SaisSAISSAIS can refer to:* Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, part of The Johns Hopkins University.* Sharjah American International School* Southern Association of Independent Schools...
- The Welsh word for Englishman, Saesnes is the female form. The CornishCornish languageCornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
word for an Englishman is "Sows", and the Cornish word for the English language is "Sowsnek".
- les goddamsLes goddamsDuring the Hundred Years' War and many other conflicts between England and France in the Middle Ages, the French came to call the English les goddamns or les goddams after their frequent expletives...
- During the Hundred Years War, the French took to calling the English les goddams because of their frequent use of expletives.
- Left-legger - Although it is traditionally related to a Protestant, it is often also used, traditionally by the IrishIrish peopleThe Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
, towards a British person, usually one from Northern IrelandNorthern IrelandNorthern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
.
Other languages
In the East African BantuBantu languages
The Bantu languages constitute a traditional sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages. There are about 250 Bantu languages by the criterion of mutual intelligibility, though the distinction between language and dialect is often unclear, and Ethnologue counts 535 languages...
languages Muzungu
Muzungu
Mzungu is the southern, central and eastern African term for a person of foreign descent. Literally translated it means "someone who roams around aimlessly" or "aimless wanderer". The term was first used by Africans to describe early European explorers...
has come to mean any white European but more often than not especially the British or English due to their colonial past in the region.
In one of the Vindolanda tablets
Vindolanda tablets
The Vindolanda tablets are "the oldest surviving handwritten documents in Britain". They are also probably our best source of information about life on Hadrian's Wall. Written on fragments of thin, post-card sized wooden leaf-tablets with carbon-based ink, the tablets date to the 1st and 2nd...
the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
pejorative of Brittunculi (wretched little Britons) is used (presumably by a Roman official) in a commentary of their particular military tactics.
In many languages, the equivalent terms for 'English' and 'England' are often used interchangeably with 'British' and 'Britain', and this is also relatively common in many non-British varieties of English. For example in Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
'İngiltere' is used for both Britain and England, despite there being a separate word for Britain, 'Britanya'. Welsh people in particular are very often referred to in French as 'Anglais' rather than 'Gallois', in Russian as 'англичанин' Angličanin, and so on. The same occurs rather less frequently in the case of individuals from Scotland and Northern Ireland. Scotland and Ireland remained at least partially separate entities until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries respectively, when the Kingdom of Great Britain
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
and United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
were formed. However, even these countries may still sometimes be considered to form part of Angleterre or the equivalent. In some languages, as in French, forms like Britannique ('British') are restricted to more official contexts, and tend to be used for governments rather than for individuals. In Assam (became part of British India in 1828), one of the last states to join British India, British are called as Boga Bongal (literally meaning White Foreigners or White Intruders). Bongal was a derogatory word for foreigners and invaders in Assam under Ahom rule and it still is used.
In Polish a common formal term to describe an Englishman is Anglik, or Brytyjczyk for a British. The first one is derived from the Polish word for England Anglia, the latter from a Polish word for Great Britain Wielka Brytania. Derogatory terms for an English/British man coined in the recent years are Angol or Brytol respectively; however, due to its negative connotations they are not used in formal writing or by the media.
In Nepal, the British are often referred to as Kuires/Khaires which means people of white or pale colour. It is also used in general for any Caucasian
Caucasian race
The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...
person with white skin.
The Malaysia, one common Malay
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
equivalent is mat salleh. The term may had originated from the general depiction of British colonial sailors who were often drunk (Mad Sailors); due to the inability of locals to pronounce English words correctly, it became mat salleh (Mat and Salleh are both typical Malay names). Another possible origin of the phrase is the Mat Salleh Rebellion
Mat Salleh Rebellion
Mat Salleh Rebellion was a series of major disturbances in North Borneo, now the Malaysian state of Sabah, from 1894 to 1900. It was instigated by Datu Muhammad Salleh, better known as Mat Salleh.-Causes of the rebellion:...
, led by North Borneo
North Borneo
North Borneo was a British protectorate under the sovereign North Borneo Chartered Company from 1882 to 1946. After the war it became a crown colony of Great Britain from 1946 to 1963, known in this time as British North Borneo. It is located on the northeastern end of the island of Borneo. It is...
chief Mat Salleh, against the British North Borneo Company
British North Borneo Company
The North Borneo Chartered Company or British North Borneo Company was a chartered company assigned to administer North Borneo in August 1881. North Borneo became a protectorate of the British Empire with internal affairs administered by the company until 1946 when it became the colony of British...
during the late-19th century. Another alternative to mat salleh is orang putih (literally "white people" in Malay) or its shortened rural form, omputih. In ancient Malaccan times, the term orang deringgi was also used.
Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
, Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, Korean
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
and Vietnamese
Vietnamese language
Vietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam...
use terms for Britain/British which are derived from the words "England" and "English". The Japanese word for Britain has its origins in the Portuguese word for English: Inglês became Igirisu.
Although the Chinese Yīngguó (Hanzi
Chinese character
Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...
: 英国), Japanese Eikoku (Kanji
Kanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
: ), Korean Yeongguk (Hangul
Hangul
Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...
: ), and Vietnamese Anh Quốc are all derived from "Eng-" in England, they are used to mean "Britain" and "British", including both Great Britain and UK. They are still used to mean England in unofficial contexts. There are also more formal specific names for the UK, such as the Chinese 聯合王國 Liánhéwángguó and Japanese 連合王国 Rengōōkoku literally meaning "United Kingdom". Separate words exist in all of these languages for each of the constituent parts of the UK, including England, although, as elsewhere, there is little awareness of correct usage. However, sport teams are called by their correct name, as can be seen in any World Cup schedule.
The written form of Yīngguó in Chinese is made up of two characters: 英国. The first 英 (yīng) in Adjective means "outstanding" and "fine",in Noun means "flower", the second is 国 (guó) which means "country", "state" or "kingdom". Originally the adjective word was written as Yīngjílì as an approximation of the adjective word English, and is still used to mean English in the Chinese word for the English Channel Yīng jí lì hǎi xiá. The noun word was written as 英格兰 Ying ge lan for the noun England, also 苏格兰 Su ge lan for Scotland, 爱尔兰 Ai er lan for Ireland and 威尔士 Wei er shi for Wales. Also in history books Great Britain is written 大不列颠 da bu lie dian, from 大 (Great) and the sounds of the words 不列颠 similar to the sound interpretation. The word 英吉利 was given the reading igirisu in Japanese, and the same abbreviation was adopted, eikoku, taking the first character and using the more usual 'Chinese' reading. These days, the word is usually written using katakana
Katakana
is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji, and in some cases the Latin alphabet . The word katakana means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana scripts are derived from components of more complex kanji. Each kana represents one mora...
script as Igirisu, although Eikoku is still common. The first character is also used in the word for the English language, 英語 eigo. Additionally, Vietnamese đảo Anh (literally, "English island") means the island of Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
.
See also
- Britons (historic)
- British Isles (terminology)British Isles (terminology)Various terms are used to describe the different geographical and political areas of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, and surrounding islands. The terminology is often a source of confusion, partly owing to the similarity between some of the actual words used, but also because they are often...
- BlightyBlightyBlighty is a British English slang term for Britain, deriving from the Hindustani word vilāyatī , from Persian vilayet and ultimately from Arabic wilayah, originally meaning something like "province"...
- List of British regional nicknames
- Offensive terms per nationality