Etymograph

English

Great Britain

Great Britain comes from Middle English Great Brittaigne.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500Great Brittaigne
  2. Englishearliest quotation 2012Great Britain

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500Great Brittaigne
  2. Englishearliest quotation 2012Great Britain

Earliest quotation: 2012, 'Apologise' for Die Stem: “The manager of the London Cup hockey tournament must…”

Formed from great + Britain

Proto-Indo-European *gʰrewd- ‘to rub’

Proto-Germanic *grautaz ‘coarse’

Proto-West Germanic *graut

Old English grēat ‘big’

Middle English greet ‘great’

English great

Proto-Indo-European *kʷer- ‘to do’

…

Latin Britannia

Old French Bretaigne

Anglo-Norman Britaine

Middle English Britayne

English Britain

The story

King James VI and I in 1604 proclaimed himself “King of Great Britain, France and Ireland”.

Every English word from Middle English Great Brittaigne

Today it means

name A large island (sometimes also including some of the surrounding smaller islands) off the north-west coast of Western Europe, made up of England, Scotland, and Wales.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Middle English Great Brittaigne / Great Britain

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