Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

English

Eng′lish

,
Adj.
[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
.]
Of or pertaining to England, or to its inhabitants, or to the present so-called Anglo-Saxon race.
English bond
(Arch.)
See 1st
Bond
,
Noun.
, 8.
–
English breakfast tea
.
See
Congou
.
–
English horn
.
(Mus.)
See
Corno Inglese
.
–
English walnut
.
(Bot.)
See under
Walnut
.

Eng′lish

,
Noun.
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 recognized, 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 recognized, 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.
(Billiards)
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 English
or
The Queen's English
.
See under
King
.

Eng′lish

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Englished
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Englishing
.]
1.
To translate into the English language; to Anglicize; hence, to interpret; to explain.
Those gracious acts . . . may be
Englished
more properly, acts of fear and dissimulation.
Milton.
Caxton does not care to alter the French forms and words in the book which he was
Englishing
.
T. L. K. Oliphant.
2.
(Billiards)
To strike (the cue ball) in such a manner as to give it in addition to its forward motion a spinning motion, that influences its direction after impact on another ball or the cushion.
[U.S.]

Webster 1828 Edition

English

ENGLISH

,
Adj.
ing'glish. [L. ango, from the sense of pressing, depression, laying, which gives the sense of level.]
Belonging to England, or to its inhabitants.

ENGLISH

,
Noun.
The people of England.
1.
The language of England or of the English nation, and of their descendants in India, America and other countries.

ENGLISH

,
Verb.
T.
To translate into the English language.

Definition 2024

English

English

See also: english

English

Alternative forms

  • Inglish (dated or rare)
  • Englishe (archaic)

Adjective

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.

Translations

Proper noun

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​.
  5. A male given name
  6. A female given name

Derived terms

Usage notes

  • 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

Hyponyms

  • Pidgin English

Translations

Noun

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

Translations

Verb

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

  • Wiktionary's coverage of English terms

Quotations

  • For usage examples of this term, see Citations:English.

Statistics

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

Anagrams

english

english

See also: English

English

Noun

english ‎(uncountable) (uppercased in all of the Oxford English Dictionary's citations from 1869 to 1959)

  1. (US) Spinning or rotary motion given to a ball around the vertical axis, as in billiards or bowling.
    You can't hit it directly, but maybe if you give it some english.

Synonyms

Translations

See also

Anagrams

Etymology

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

  • IPA(key): /ˈɪŋɡlɪʃ/
  • Hyphenation: Eng‧lish

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