adj
Meaning 1
Of Britain.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: usually, with-definite-article
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
British
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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/ˈbɹɪtɪʃ/
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Received-Pronunciation: [ˈbɹɪtɪʃ]
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Received-Pronunciation: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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Australian, Canada, General-American: [ˈbɹɪɾɪʃ]
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General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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Cockney, Estuary-English: [ˈbɹɪʔɪʃ]
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rhymes with -ɪtɪʃ
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CMU ARPABET: B R IH1 T IH0 SH Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
adj
Meaning 2
Of the United Kingdom.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: usually, with-definite-article
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adj
Meaning 3
Of the Commonwealth of Nations, or the British Empire.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: usually, with-definite-article
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adj
Meaning 4
Of England; English.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: informal, proscribed, usually, with-definite-article
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adj
Meaning 5
Of the ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain; Brythonic.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: historical, usually, with-definite-article
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adj
Meaning 6
Of the British Isles.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: historical, usually, with-definite-article
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adj
Meaning 7
Of British English.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: usually, with-definite-article
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
name
Meaning 8
The Celtic language of the ancient Britons; Common Brittonic.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: usually, with-definite-article
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
name
Meaning 9
The British English language.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US, usually, with-definite-article
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 10
The residents or inhabitants of Great Britain.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: plural, plural-only, usually, with-definite-article
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: Britons, Brits
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 11
The citizens or inhabitants of the United Kingdom.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: plural, plural-only, usually, with-definite-article
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 12
The earlier inhabitants of southern Britain, prior to the Anglo-Saxon invasion and subsequent migrations.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: plural, plural-only, usually, with-definite-article
Topics: history, human-sciences, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: Britons
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 13
Synonym of Welsh: the Welsh people.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete, plural, plural-only, usually, with-definite-article
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: Welsh
Antonyms: none provided
adjective
Meaning 14
of or relating to or characteristic of Great Britain or its people or culture
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- his wife is British
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 15
the people of Great Britain
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: British people, Brits
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: nation, land, country
History
Etymology
From Middle English Brittish, from Old English Brettisċ. The spelling with single -t- appears in the 13th century under the influence of Medieval Latin Britannicus, but spelling with -tt- persists alongside -t- during the 13th to at least 18th centuries. In reference to the island of Great Britain from ca. 1400 (Latin natio Anglica sive Britannica, Brittisshe occean 1398, the Britishe nacion 1548). As a noun, referring to the British people, British soldiers, etc. from ca. 1600.
Across languages
Translations
295 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Afrikaans: Brits — of Britain
- Albanian: britanik — of Britain
- Arabic: بِرِيطَانِيّ (biriṭāniyy) — of Britain
- Arabic: بَرِيطَانِيّ (barīṭāniyy) — of Britain
- Armenian: բրիտանական (britanakan) — of Britain
- Assamese: ব্ৰিটিছ (britis) — of Britain
- Assamese: বিলাতী (bilati) — of Britain
- Asturian: británicu — of Britain
- Azerbaijani: britaniyalı — of Britain
- Azerbaijani: britaniya — of Britain
- Belarusian: брыта́нскі (brytánski) — of Britain
- Bengali: ব্রিটিশ (briṭiś) — of Britain
- Bulgarian: брита́нски (británski) — of Britain
- Burmese: ဗြိတိသျှ (bri.ti.hsya.) — of Britain
- Catalan: britànic — of Britain
- Chinese Mandarin: 英國的 /英国的 (Yīngguó de) — of Britain
- Czech: britský — of Britain
- Danish: britisk — of Britain
- Dutch: Brits — of Britain
- Esperanto: brita — of Britain
- Estonian: briti — of Britain
- Faroese: bretskur — of Britain
- Finnish: brittiläinen — of Britain
- Finnish: britti- — of Britain
- Finnish: britannialainen — of Britain
- French: britannique — of Britain
- Georgian: ბრიტანული (briṭanuli) — of Britain
- German: britisch — of Britain
- German: großbritannisch — of Britain
- Greek: βρετανικός (vretanikós) — of Britain
- Hebrew: בְּרִיטִי (briti) — of Britain
- Hindi: अंग्रेज़ी (aṅgrezī) — of Britain
- Hindi: ब्रिटिश (briṭiś) — of Britain
- Hungarian: brit — of Britain
- Icelandic: breskur — of Britain
- Indonesian: Inggris — of Britain
- Irish: Briotanach — of Britain
- Italian: britannico — of Britain
- Japanese: イギリスの (Igirisu no) — of Britain
- Japanese: 英国の (Eikoku no) — of Britain
- Kazakh: британдық (britandyq) — of Britain
- Kazakh: британиялық (britaniälyq) — of Britain
- Khmer: ប៊្រីតថេន (priittheen) — of Britain
- Korean: 영국의 (Yeonggug-ui) — of Britain
- Kyrgyz: британиялык (britaniyalık) — of Britain
- Latin: Britanniae — of Britain
- Latvian: britu — of Britain
- Latvian: britisks — of Britain
- Lithuanian: britų — of Britain
- Lithuanian: britiškas — of Britain
- Luxembourgish: brittesch — of Britain
- Macedonian: британски (britanski) — of Britain
- Māori: a Peretānia — of Britain
- Māori: o Peretānia — of Britain
- Norwegian Bokmål: britisk — of Britain
- Norwegian Nynorsk: britisk — of Britain
- Occitan: britanic — of Britain
- Persian: بِریتانِیایی (beritâniyâyi) — of Britain
- Polish: brytyjski — of Britain
- Portuguese: britânico — of Britain
- Romanian: britanic — of Britain
- Russian: брита́нский (británskij) — of Britain
- Scottish Gaelic: Breatannach — of Britain
- Serbo-Croatian: британски — of Britain
- Serbo-Croatian: britanski — of Britain
- Slovak: britský — of Britain
- Slovene: británski — of Britain
- Spanish: británico — of Britain
- Swedish: brittisk — of Britain
- Tajik: британӣ (britani) — of Britain
- Thai: บริเตน (brì-dteen) — of Britain
- Turkish: İngiliz — of Britain
- Ukrainian: брита́нський (brytánsʹkyj) — of Britain
- Urdu: بَرْطانْوِی (bartānvī) — of Britain
- Urdu: بِرْٹِش (birṭiś) — of Britain
- Urdu: اَن٘گْریزی (aṅgrezī) — of Britain
- Uyghur: برىتانىيىلىك (britaniyilik) — of Britain
- Uyghur: برىتانىيە (britaniye) — of Britain
- Uzbek: britaniyalik — of Britain
- Uzbek: britaniya — of Britain
- Vietnamese: Anh — of Britain
- Vietnamese: đảo Anh — of Britain
- Welsh: Prydeinig — of Britain
- Yiddish: בריטיש (british) — of Britain
- Afrikaans: Brits — colloquial: of the UK
- Armenian: բրիտանական (britanakan) — colloquial: of the UK
- Asturian: británicu — colloquial: of the UK
- Catalan: britànic — colloquial: of the UK
- Czech: britský — colloquial: of the UK
- Dutch: Brits — colloquial: of the UK
- Faroese: bretskur — colloquial: of the UK
- Finnish: brittiläinen — colloquial: of the UK
- Finnish: britti- — colloquial: of the UK
- Finnish: englantilainen — colloquial: of the UK
- Finnish: englantilais- — colloquial: of the UK
- Finnish: britannialainen — colloquial: of the UK
- Georgian: ბრიტანული (briṭanuli) — colloquial: of the UK
- German: britisch — colloquial: of the UK
- Hindi: ब्रिटिश (briṭiś) — colloquial: of the UK
- Hindi: अंग्रेज़ी (aṅgrezī) — colloquial: of the UK
- Hungarian: brit — colloquial: of the UK
- Hungarian: egyesült királysági — colloquial: of the UK
- Hungarian: egyesült királyságbeli — colloquial: of the UK
- Japanese: イギリスの (Igirisu no) — colloquial: of the UK
- Japanese: 英国の (Eikoku no) — colloquial: of the UK
- Korean: 영국의 (Yeonggug-ui) — colloquial: of the UK
- Luxembourgish: brittesch — colloquial: of the UK
- Macedonian: британски (britanski) — colloquial: of the UK
- Norwegian Bokmål: britisk — colloquial: of the UK
- Norwegian Nynorsk: britisk — colloquial: of the UK
- Persian: بریتانیایی (beritâniyâyi) — colloquial: of the UK
- Polish: brytyjski — colloquial: of the UK
- Portuguese: britânico — colloquial: of the UK
- Romanian: britanic — colloquial: of the UK
- Russian: брита́нский (británskij) — colloquial: of the UK
- Scottish Gaelic: Breatannach — colloquial: of the UK
- Serbo-Croatian: британски — colloquial: of the UK
- Serbo-Croatian: britanski — colloquial: of the UK
- Spanish: británico — colloquial: of the UK
- Spanish: reinounidense — colloquial: of the UK
- Swedish: brittisk — colloquial: of the UK
- Tajik: британӣ (britani) — colloquial: of the UK
- Vietnamese: Anh — colloquial: of the UK
- Welsh: Prydeinig — colloquial: of the UK
- Cornish: brythonik — history: of the ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
- Czech: britonský — history: of the ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
- Finnish: brittiläinen — history: of the ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
- Finnish: britti- — history: of the ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
- Hungarian: brit — history: of the ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
- Norwegian Bokmål: britisk — history: of the ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
- Norwegian Nynorsk: britisk — history: of the ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
- Old English: Bryttisc Brytwylisc — history: of the ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
- Portuguese: britônico — history: of the ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
- Romanian: britonic — history: of the ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
- Scottish Gaelic: Breatannach — history: of the ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
- Spanish: britano — history: of the ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
- Welsh: Brythonig — history: of the ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
- Afrikaans: Britse Engels — the British English language
- Chinese Mandarin: 英國英語 /英国英语 (yīngguóyǔ) — the British English language
- Danish: britisk engelsk — the British English language
- Dutch: Brits-Engels — the British English language
- Finnish: britannianenglanti — the British English language
- French: anglais britannique — the British English language
- German: Britisches Englisch — the British English language
- Greek: αγγλικά (angliká) — the British English language
- Hungarian: brit — the British English language
- Hungarian: brit angol — the British English language
- Indonesian: Bahasa Inggris — the British English language
- Japanese: イギリス英語 (Igirisu eigo) — the British English language
- Japanese: 英英語 or 英々語 (eieigo) — the British English language
- Javanese: Basa Inggeris — the British English language
- Macedonian: британски англиски (britanski angliski) — the British English language
- Marathi: ब्रिटिश इंग्रजी (briṭiś iṅgrajī) — the British English language
- Marathi: ब्रिटिश इंग्लिश (briṭiś iṅgliś) — the British English language
- Norwegian Bokmål: britisk engelsk — the British English language
- Norwegian Nynorsk: britisk engelsk — the British English language
- Portuguese: inglês britânico — the British English language
- Romanian: engleză britanică — the British English language
- Russian: бри́танский а́нглийский (brítanskij ánglijskij) — the British English language
- Spanish: inglés británico — the British English language
- Swedish: brittisk engelska — the British English language
- Turkish: İngiliz İngilizcesi — the British English language
- Ukrainian: Британська англійська мова (Brytansʹka anhlijsʹka mova) — the British English language
- Welsh: Saesneg Prydain — the British English language
- Afrikaans: Britte — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Arabic: بِرِيطَانِيّ (biriṭāniyy) — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Arabic: بِرِيطَانِيَّة (biriṭāniyya) — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Burmese: ဗြိတိလျှ (bri.ti.hlya.) — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Catalan: britànics — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Chinese Cantonese: 英國人 /英国人 (jing1 gwok3 jan3) — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Chinese Mandarin: 英國人 /英国人 (yīngguórén) — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Czech: Britové — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Danish: brite — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Dutch: Brit — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Dutch: Britse — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Estonian: britt — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Faroese: breti — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Finnish: britit — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- French: Britannique — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Galician: británicos — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Georgian: ბრიტანელი (briṭaneli) — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- German: Briten — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- German: Brite — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- German: Britin — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Greek: Βρετανός (Vretanós) — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Greek: Βρετανή (Vretaní) — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Hindi: ब्रिटिश (briṭiś) — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Hindi: अंग्रेज़ी (aṅgrezī) — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Hungarian: brit — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Hungarian: nagy-britanniai — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Icelandic: Breti — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Indonesian: Bangsa Inggris — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Italian: britannici — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Japanese: イギリス人 (igirisujin) — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Japanese: 英国人 (eikokujin) — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Javanese: Bangsa Inggeris — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Lithuanian: britas — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Lithuanian: britė — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Macedonian: Британци (Britanci) — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Marathi: ब्रिटिश (briṭiś) — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Navajo: Óola Bichʼahní dineʼé — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Norwegian Bokmål: brite — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Norwegian Nynorsk: brite — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Persian: بریتانیایی (beritâniyâyi) — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Polish: Brytyjczycy — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Portuguese: britânicos — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Romanian: britanic — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Romanian: britanici — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Russian: брита́нец (británec) — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Russian: брита́нка (británka) — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Russian: брита́нцы (británcy) — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Scottish Gaelic: Breatannaich — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Slovak: Brit — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Slovene: Británec — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Slovene: Británka — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Spanish: británicos — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Swedish: britt — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Swedish: brittiska — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Turkish: İngiliz — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Urdu: انگریز (aṅgrez) — citizens or inhabitants of Britain
- Afrikaans: Britte — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Burmese: ဗြိတိလျှ (bri.ti.hlya.) — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Catalan: britànics — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Chinese Mandarin: 英國人 /英国人 (yīngguórén) — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Czech: Britové — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Danish: brite — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Dutch: Brit — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Dutch: Britse — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Estonian: britt — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Faroese: breti — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Finnish: britit — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- French: Britannique — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Georgian: ბრიტანელი (briṭaneli) — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- German: Briten — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- German: Brite — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- German: Britin — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Greek: Βρετανός (Vretanós) — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Greek: Βρετανή (Vretaní) — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Hebrew: בריטי (briti) — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Hindi: अंग्रेज़ (aṅgrez) — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Hindi: अंग्रेज़िन (aṅgrezin) — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Hindi: ब्रिटिश (briṭiś) — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Hungarian: brit — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Hungarian: egyesült királysági — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Hungarian: egyesült királyságbeli — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Indonesian: Orang Inggris — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Italian: britannici — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Japanese: イギリス人 (igirisujin) — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Japanese: 英国人 (eikokujin) — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Javanese: Wong Inggeris — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Lithuanian: britas — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Lithuanian: britė — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Luxembourgish: Britte — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Luxembourgish: Brittin — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Macedonian: Британци (Britanci) — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Marathi: ब्रिटिश (briṭiś) — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Norwegian Bokmål: brite — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Norwegian Nynorsk: brite — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Polish: Brytyjczycy — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Portuguese: britânicos — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Romanian: britanic — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Romanian: britanic — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Russian: брита́нец (británec) — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Russian: брита́нка (británka) — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Russian: брита́нцы (británcy) — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Scottish Gaelic: Breatannaich — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Slovak: Brit — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Spanish: británicos — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Spanish: reinounidenses — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Swedish: britt — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Swedish: brittiska — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Turkish: İngiliz — the citizens or inhabitants of the UK
- Breton: Brezhon — history: ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
- Cornish: Brython — history: ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
- Czech: Britonové — history: ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
- Danish: brite — history: ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
- Estonian: britt — history: ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
- Finnish: britit — history: ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
- Finnish: brittiläiset — history: ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
- Hungarian: brit — history: ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
- Indonesian: Orang Inggris Kuno — history: ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
- Indonesian: Orang Pribumi Inggris — history: ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
- Old English: Bryttas — history: ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
- Old English: Bryttwealas — history: ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
- Old English: Bryttwalas — history: ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
- Portuguese: britões — history: ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
- Portuguese: bretões — history: ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
- Romanian: britonic — history: ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
- Romanian: britonici — history: ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
- Russian: бритт (britt) — history: ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
- Russian: бри́ттка (bríttka) — history: ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
- Russian: бри́тты (brítty) — history: ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
- Scottish Gaelic: Breatannaich — history: ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
- Spanish: britanos — history: ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
- Welsh: Brython — history: ancient inhabitants of the southern part of Britain
Real reading context