English

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English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English Englisch, English, Inglis, from Old English Englisc, Ænglisc ‎(“of the Angles; English”), from Engle, Ængle ‎(“the Angles”) +‎ -isc, a Germanic tribe; equal to Angle +‎ -ish. Compare Dutch Engels, Danish engelsk, Old French Englesche (modern French anglais), German englisch, and Spanish inglés.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈɪŋɡlɪʃ/
  • Audio (UK)
    		(file)
  • Audio (US)
    		(file)
  • Hyphenation: Eng‧lish

Adjective[edit]

English ‎(comparative more English, superlative most English)

  1. Of or pertaining to England.
  2. English-language; of or pertaining to the language, descended from Anglo-Saxon, which developed in England.
    Those immigrants Anglicised their names to make them sound more English.‎
  3. Of or pertaining to the people of England (to Englishmen and Englishwomen).
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 2, in The Celebrity:
      Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke. He was dressed out in broad gaiters and bright tweeds, like an English tourist, and his face might have belonged to Dagon, idol of the Philistines.
  4. Of or pertaining to the avoirdupois system of measure.
    an English ton‎
  5. (Amish) Non-Amish.

Synonyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

Proper noun[edit]

English

  1. (collective plural) The people of England; Englishmen and Englishwomen.
    The Scottish and the English have a history of conflict.
  2. The language originating in England but now spoken in all parts of the British Isles, the Commonwealth of Nations, North America, and other parts of the world.
    English is spoken here as an unofficial language and lingua franca.
    How do you say ‘à peu près’ in English?
  3. (Amish, collective plural) The non-Amish; non-Amish people.
  4. A surname​.

Derived terms[edit]

Derived terms from English

Usage notes[edit]

  • The name of the language, English, when it means "the English language", does not assume an article. Hence: "Say it in plain English!"
  • The people as a collective noun require the definite article "the" or a demonstrative adjective. Hence: "The English are coming!" or "Oh, those English, always drinking their tea..."

Hypernyms[edit]

Hyponyms[edit]

Translations[edit]

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

Noun[edit]

English ‎(usually uncountable, plural Englishes)

  1. One's ability to employ the English language correctly.
    My coworker has pretty good English for a non-native speaker.
  2. The English-language term or expression for something.
    What's the English for ‘à peu près’?
  3. Specific language or wording; a text or statements in speech, whether a translation or otherwise.
    The technical details are correct, but the English is not very clear.
  4. (countable) A variety or dialect of spoken and or written English.
    • Amy Tan, Mother Tongue
      I began to write stories using all the Englishes I grew up with: the English I spoke to my mother, which for lack of a better term might be described as “simple”; the English she used with me, which for lack of a better term might be described as “broken”; my translation of her Chinese, which could certainly be described as “watered down”; and what I imagined to be her translation of her Chinese if she could speak in perfect English, her internal language, and for that I sought to preserve the essence, but neither an English nor a Chinese structure.
  5. (printing, dated) The size of type between pica and great primer, standardized as 14-point.
  6. (Canada, US) Spin or side given to a ball, especially in pool or billiards.
    Put more English on the ball.

Synonyms[edit]

Translations[edit]

Verb[edit]

English ‎(third-person singular simple present Englishes, present participle Englishing, simple past and past participle Englished)

  1. (transitive, archaic) To translate, adapt or render into English.
    • 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, page 214 (2001 reprint):
      […] severe prohibuit viris suis tum misceri feminas in consuetis suis menstruis, etc. I spare to English this which I have said.

See also[edit]

Quotations[edit]

Statistics[edit]

Most common English words before 1923: hope · er · children · #319: English · sure · indeed · leave

External links[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

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