Definition of English

1. Noun. An Indo-European language belonging to the West Germanic branch; the official language of Britain and the United States and most of the commonwealth countries.


2. Adjective. Of or relating to or characteristic of England or its culture or people. "English literature"
Derivative terms: Anglicize, England
Partainyms: England

3. Noun. The people of England.
Exact synonyms: English People
Generic synonyms: Country, Land, Nation

4. Adjective. Of or relating to the English language.

5. Noun. The discipline that studies the English language and literature.

6. Noun. (sports) the spin given to a ball by striking it on one side or releasing it with a sharp twist.
Exact synonyms: Side
Category relationships: Athletics, Sport
Generic synonyms: Spin

Definition of English

1. a. Of or pertaining to England, or to its inhabitants, or to the present so-called Anglo-Saxon race.

2. n. Collectively, the people of England; English people or persons.

3. v. t. To translate into the English language; to Anglicize; hence, to interpret; to explain.

Definition of English

1. Adjective. English-language; of or pertaining to the English language. ¹

2. Adjective. Of or pertaining to England or its people. ¹

3. Adjective. Of or pertaining to an Englishman or Englishwoman. ¹

4. Adjective. Of or pertaining to the avoirdupois system of measure. ¹

5. Proper noun. The language originating in England but now spoken in all parts of the British Isles, the Commonwealth of Nations, the United States of America, and other parts of the world. ¹

6. Proper noun. (''collective plural'') The people of England; Englishmen and Englishwomen. ¹

7. Noun. One’s ability to employ the English language correctly. ¹

8. Noun. The English-language term or expression for something. ¹

9. Noun. Specific language or wording; a text or statements in speech, whether a translation or otherwise. ¹

10. Noun. (countable) A regional type of spoken and or written English; a dialect. ¹

11. Verb. (transitive) (archaic) To translate, adapt or render into English. ¹

12. Noun. (American English) Spinning or rotary motion given to a ball around the vertical axis, as in billiards or bowling. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of English

1. to cause a billiard ball to spin around its vertical axis [v -ED, -ING, -ES]

Medical Definition of English

1. 1. Collectively, the people of England; English people or persons. 2. The language of England or of the English nation, and of their descendants in America, India, and other countries. The English language has been variously divided into periods by different writers. In the division most commonly recognised, the first period dates from about 450 to 1150. This is the period of full inflection, and is called Anglo-Saxon, or, by many recent writers, Old English. The second period dates from about 1150 to 1550 (or, if four periods be recognised, from about 1150 to 1350), and is called Early English, Middle English, or more commonly (as in the usage of this book), Old English. During this period most of the inflections were dropped, and there was a great addition of French words to the language. The third period extends from about 1350 to 1550, and is Middle English. During this period orthography became comparatively fixed. The last period, from about 1550, is called Modern English. 3. A kind of printing type, in size between Pica and Great Primer. See Type. The type called English. 4. A twist or spinning motion given to a ball in striking it that influences the direction it will take after touching a cushion or another ball. The King's, or Queen's, English. See King. Of or pertaining to England, or to its inhabitants, or to the present so-called Anglo-Saxon race. English bond See Corno Inglese. English walnut. See Walnut. Origin: AS. Englisc, fr. Engle, Angle, Engles, Angles, a tribe of Germans from the southeast of Sleswick, in Denmark, who settled in Britain and gave it the name of England. Cf. Anglican. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of English

engirded
engirding
engirdle
engirdled
engirdles
engirdling
engirds
engirt
engiscope
engiscopes
englacial
engladden
engladdened
engladdening
engladdens
english (current term)
englished
englishes
englishing
englishwoman
englobe
englobed
englobement
englobes
englobing
engloom
engloomed
englooming
englooms

Literary usage of English

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Thought and Expression in the Sixteenth Century by Henry Osborn Taylor (1920)
"An english speech developed, as well as political institutions and a common law; also an insular point of view, an english patriotism, and in fine an ..."

2. The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales: The Knightes Tale, the Nonnes Prestes Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer (1901)
"The dialects have, therefore, been kept in the background, and Chaucer's speech has been assumed to be normal Middle english. ..."

3. A History of England and the British Empire by Arthur Donald Innes (1913)
"CHAPTER I. BEFORE THE english CAME THE history of England, english land, begins in a sense only when the english came to the land to which they gave their ..."

4. England, with sketches of society in the metropolis by James Fenimore Cooper (1837)
"english Prejudice.—Misrepresentations.—National Abasement. ... english and French Servants.—english and American Seamen.—Subordination. ..."

5. The Encyclopedia Americana: A Library of Universal Knowledge (1919)
"... ARCHIBALD, Ph.D. Professor of english Literature, Dalhousie College, Halifax. ... THOMAS GAFFNEY, AM Professor of english, Fordham University FULDA, ..."

6. The Antiquary by Edward Walford, John Charles Cox, George Latimer Apperson (1885)
"'л/- EARLY english The Antiquary. The history of early english inventions appears to have been strangely neglected.' In Mr. Hyde Clarke wrote to Notes ana ..."

7. Essays on Medieval Literature by William Paton Ker (1905)
"The Norman Conquest degraded the english language from its literary rank, ... It did not destroy—in one sense it did not absolutely interrupt —english ..."

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