86. Britain

1. Albion poetic name for England. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 19]
2. beefeater yeoman of the English royal guard, esp. at the Tower of London; slang for Englishman. [Br. Culture: Misc.]
3. Bull, John personification of Britain. [Br. Folklore: Benét, 45]
4. Court of St . James’s British royal court. [Br. Hist.: Misc.]
5. George, St. patron saint of Britain. [Br. Hist.: Golden Legend ]
6. God Save the Queen British national anthem. [Br. Culture: Scholes, 408]
7. Nation of Shopkeepers name disdainfully given to Britain by Napoleon Bonaparte. [Fr. Hist.: Wheeler, 256]
8. Rule Britannia! patriotic song of Britain. [Br. Culture: Scholes, 897–898]
9. 10 Downing Street the British government; refers to location of Prime Minister’s residence [Br. Culture: Benét, 286]
10. Union Jack British national flag. [Br. Culture: Misc.]
11. Whitehall many government offices on this street; synonymous with government. [Br. Hist.: NCE, 2970]

Britain (brĬt´ən), alternate term for Great Britain, comprised of England, Scotland, and Wales. Often used synonymously with the United Kingdom, the name Britain is derived from Britannia, given by the Romans to the portion of the island of Great Britain that they occupied. It has sometimes been used to refer to Great Britain in the period before the Germanic invasions of the 5th cent. AD After the union (1707) of England and Scotland, parliamentary legislation for a time used "South Britain" and "North Britain" to refer to the two parts. For a more complete history, see Great Britain.

Britain XIII. ME. Bretayne — OF. Bretaigne (mod. -agne) :- L. Brittania, -annia, f. Brit(t)annī Britons = Gr. Bret(t)anoí, Pret(t)anoí. (OE. Breoten, Breten, Bryten — L. Brittones; cf. BRITISH.)

Britain (Great Britain) Kingdom in nw Europe, officially the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man.

Britain •baton, batten, fatten, flatten, harmattan, Manhattan, Mountbatten, paten, patten, pattern, platen, Saturn, slattern •Shackleton • Appleton •Hampton, Northampton, Rockhampton, Southampton, Wolverhampton •Canton, lantern, Scranton •Langton, plankton •Clapton •Aston, pastern •Gladstone •Caxton, Paxton •capstan • Ashton • phytoplankton •Akhenaten, Akhetaten, Aten, Barton, carton, Dumbarton, hearten, Parton, smarten, spartan, tartan •Grafton •Carlton, Charlton •Charleston • kindergarten •Aldermaston •Breton, jetton, Sowetan, threaten, Tibetan •lectern •Elton, melton, Skelton •Denton, Fenton, Kenton, Lenten, Trenton •Repton •Avestan, Midwestern, northwestern, Preston, southwestern, western •sexton •Clayton, Deighton, Leighton, Paton, phaeton, Satan, straighten, straiten •Paignton • Maidstone •beaten, Beaton, Beeton, Cretan, Keaton, neaten, Nuneaton, overeaten, sweeten, uneaten, wheaten •chieftain •eastern, northeastern, southeastern •browbeaten • weatherbeaten •bitten, bittern, Britain, Briton, Britten, handwritten, hardbitten, kitten, Lytton, mitten, smitten, underwritten, witan, written •Clifton •Milton, Shilton, Stilton, Wilton •Middleton • singleton • simpleton •Clinton, Linton, Minton, Quinton, Winton •cistern, Liston, piston, Wystan •brimstone • Winston • Kingston •Addington • Eddington •Workington •Arlington, Darlington •skeleton •Ellington, wellington •exoskeleton •cosmopolitan, megalopolitan, metropolitan, Neapolitan •Burlington • Hamilton • badminton •lamington • Germiston • Penistone •Bonington • Orpington • Samaritan •Carrington, Harrington •sacristan • Festschriften •Sherrington • typewritten •Warrington • puritan • Fredericton •Lexington • Occitan • Washington •Whittington • Huntington •Galveston • Livingstone •Kensington •Blyton, brighten, Brighton, Crichton, enlighten, frighten, heighten, lighten, righten, tighten, titan, triton, whiten •begotten, cotton, forgotten, ill-gotten, misbegotten, rotten •Compton, Crompton •wanton • Longton •Boston, postern •boughten, chorten, foreshorten, Laughton, Morton, Naughton, Orton, quartan, quartern, shorten, tauten, torten, Wharton •Alton, Dalton, Galton, saltern, Walton •Taunton • Allston • Launceston •croton, Dakotan, Minnesotan, oaten, verboten •Bolton, Doulton, molten •Folkestone • Royston •Luton, newton, rambutan, Teuton •Houston • Fulton •button, glutton, Hutton, mutton •sultan •doubleton, subaltern •fronton • Augustan • Dunstan •tungsten • quieten • Pinkerton •charlatan • Wollaston • Palmerston •Edmonton • automaton • Sheraton •Geraldton • Chatterton • Betterton •Chesterton • Athelstan •burton, curtain, uncertain •Hurston