American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Of, relating to, or characteristic of England or its people or culture.
- adj. Of or relating to the English language.
- n. The people of England.
- n. The West Germanic language of England, the United States, and other countries that are or have been under English influence or control.
- n. The English language of a particular time, region, person, or group of persons: American English.
- n. A translation into or an equivalent in the English language.
- n. A course or individual class in the study of English language, literature, or composition.
- n. The spin given to a propelled ball by striking it on one side or releasing it with a sharp twist.
- n. Bodily movement in an effort to influence the movement of a propelled object; body English.
- v. To translate into English.
- v. To adapt into English; Anglicize.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Belonging to or characteristic of England (the largest of the three kingdoms which with the principality of Wales form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland), or to its inhabitants, institutions, etc.: often used for British.
- Of or pertaining to or characteristic of the language spoken by the people of England and the peoples derived from them. See II., 2.
- n. Collectively, in the plural, the people of England; specifically, natives of England, or the people constituting the English race, particularly as distinguished from the Scotch, Welsh, and Irish.
- n. [ME. English, Englisch, etc., ⟨ AS. Englisc, Ænglisc, neut. adj. as noun (also with a noun, Englisc gereord or getheód), the English language—that is, the language spoken by the Angles and, by extension, by the Saxons and other Low German tribes who composed the people called Anglo-Saxons. See etymology above, Anglo-Saxon, and def.] The language of the people of England and of the peoples derived from them, including those of English descent in the United States of America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the British dependencies in India, Africa, and other parts of the world. The signification of the term English, as applied to language, has varied with its changes of signification in political use. Originally applied to the language of the Angles, it came in time to be the general designation of the aggregate of slightly differing Low German dialects, Anglian and Saxon, which was recognized as the national tongue of the Teutonic invaders of Britain. This tongue, now generally known as Anglo-Saxon (see
Anglo-Saxon), underwent in the course of time, by the Scandinavian invasion in the ninth century, and by the Norman conquest and the introduction of Norman French in the eleventh century, changes so extensive and profound as to make the English” language of the later periods practically another tongue. Accordingly, the older stages of the language have at different periods received some special designation, as Saxon, Anglo-Saxon, English-Saxon, or Saxon-English for the language before the Norman conquest, and Old English or Early English for the period between the Norman conquest and the modern period. Recently some British scholars have insisted on using English to cover the whole range of the language, applying Old English, or, as some term it, Oldest English, to the Anglo-Saxon period. But, apart from the question as to the practical differences of the Anglo-Saxon and the language later called English, this tends to confusion, the term Old English having long had a distinct and well-understood application to the mixed language developed after the Norman conquest. Various divisions have been made of the periods of English. All are more or less arbitrary, there being no absolute gap even between the Anglo-Saxon and the following period. A common division, adopted in this dictionary, is as follows: Anglo-Saxon, meaning usually and chiefly West-Saxon, but including all other Anglo-Saxon dialects, Kentish, Mercian, Old Northumbrian, etc., from the middle of the fifth century, or rather from the seventh century, when the first contemporary records (in Anglo-Saxon) begin, to the middle or end of the twelfth century (a. d. 450 (600)-1150 (1200)); Middle English, also called Old English, from the middle or end of the twelfth century to the beginning of the sixteenth century (a. d. 1150 (1200)-1500); Modern English, or simply English, from the beginning of the sixteenth century to the present time. Each of these periods is divided, when convenient, into three subperiods by the terms early and late applied to the first and the last part of the main periods. The periods of transition cannot be exactly fixed, and in the etymologies of this dictionary the designation “early Middle English,” for example, with reference to a word or form, may coincide in date with the designation “late Anglo-Saxon,” as applied to another word or form of earlier aspect or spelling. So “early modern English,” referring properly to the first part of the sixteenth century (a. d. 1500-1550), may in some cases refer back to the last decades of the fifteenth century, or, in regard to archaic forms and spellings, may extend to the end of the sixteenth century. In particular cases the date of the century or the date of the year is given. Philologically, English, considered with reference to its original form, Anglo-Saxon, and to the grammatical features which it retains of Anglo-Saxon origin, is the most conspicuous member of the Low German group of the Teutonic family, the other Low German languages being Old Saxon, Old Friesic, Old Low German, and other extinct forms, and the modern Dutch, Flemish, Friesic, and Low German (Platt Deutsch). These, with High German, constitute the “West Germanic” branch, as Gothic and the Scandinavian tongues constitute the “East Germanic” branch, of the Teutonic family. (See the terms used.) By mixture with the Celtic and Latin of the Anglo-Saxon period, and later with the kindred Scandinavian, and then with the Old French of the Norman and other dialects, especially with the Norman French as developed in England (the Anglo-French), and with later French, and finally, in consequence of the spread of English exploration, commerce, conquest, and colonization, with nearly all the other great languages of the globe, English has become the most composite language spoken by man. The vocabulary of common life is still about three fourths of Anglo-Saxon origin; but the vocabulary of literature and commerce contains a majority of words of foreign origin, chiefly Latin or Greek, coming in great part through the Romance tongues, and of these chiefly through French. The languages from which the next greatest contributions have been received are the Scandinavian (Icelandic, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian), the Low German (Dutch, Flemish, etc.), Celtic, Hebrew, Persian, Arabic, Hindustani, Turkish, Malay, Chinese, American Indian, etc. The words derived from the more remote languages are, however, in great part names of products or customs peculiar to the countries concerned, and few of them enter into actual English use.
- n. The English equivalent of a foreign word; an English rendering.
- n. In printing, a size of type between pica and great primer: in the United States, about 5⅛ lines to the linear inch.
- n. This line is in English type.
- n. In billiards, a twisting or spinning motion imparted by a quick stroke on one side to the cue-ball. All deviations by the cue-ball from such motion as would naturally result from a straight central stroke with the cue, or from the slant given by impact on the side of an object-ball after such a stroke, are governed by the same principle; but as most force-shots have special names (draw, follow, massé, etc.), the word English is generally used only when the ball glances after impact in a direction more or less sharply angular from the objectball or cushion. [U. S.]
- n. idiomatic or correct English.
- To translate into the English language; render in English.
- To furnish with English speech.
- To express in speech; give an account of.
- In billiards, to cause to twist or spin and to assume a more or less sharply angular direction after impact: as, he Englished his ball too much.
- In billiards, to impart a twisting or spinning motion to the cue-ball: as, I Englished just right.
- adj. English-language; of or pertaining to the English language.
- adj. Of or pertaining to England or its people.
- adj. Of or pertaining to an Englishman or Englishwoman.
- adj. Of or pertaining to the avoirdupois system of measure.
- n. 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.
- n. The people of England; Englishmen and Englishwomen.
- n. One's ability to employ the English language correctly.
- n. The English-language term or expression for something.
- n. Specific language or wording; a text or statements in speech, whether a translation or otherwise.
- n. countable A regional type of spoken and or written English; a dialect.
- v. transitive, archaic To translate, adapt or render into English.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Of or pertaining to England, or to its inhabitants, or to the present so-called Anglo-Saxon race.
- n. Collectively, the people of England; English people or persons.
- n. The language of England or of the English nation, and of their descendants in America, India, and other countries.
- n. A kind of printing type, in size between Pica and Great Primer. See Type.
- n. (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.
- v. To translate into the English language; to Anglicize; hence, to interpret; to explain.
- v. (Billiards), U.S. 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.
- n. the discipline that studies the English language and literature
- n. the people of England
- adj. of or relating to or characteristic of England or its culture or people
- n. 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
- n. (sports) the spin given to a ball by striking it on one side or releasing it with a sharp twist
- adj. of or relating to the English language
- From Middle English, from Old English Englisċ ("of the Angles"), from Engle ("the Angles"), a Germanic tribe. (Wiktionary)
- Middle English, from Old English Englisc, from Engle, the Angles. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
“-- _English Grammar_ is the science which teaches the forms, uses, and relations of the words of the English Language+.”
“-- _English Grammar_ is the science which teaches the forms, uses, and relations of the words of the English language.”
“He has also published two series of charming lectures on English philology, entitled _The Study of Words_ and _English Past and Present_.”
“It is intended primarily for boys, but, in the present unsatisfactory state of English education, we entertain a hope that it may possibly be found not unfit for some who have passed the age of boyhood; and in this hope we have ventured to give it the title of _English Lessons for English People_.”
“The first English newspaper was the _English Mercury_, issued in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and was issued in the shape of a pamphlet.”
“Full of enthusiasm for the ideas of his English friends, he wrote _Letters on the English_ -- a triumph of deistic philosophy and sarcastic criticism of church and society.”
“Besides a certain ungainliness [Dr. Jespersens masculine quality], said a recent writer in English, 12 English labors under other grave disadvantages.”
“F.R.S., late President of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Webster argued that the time for regarding English usage and submitting to English authority had already passed, and that a future separation of the American tongue from the English was necessary and unavoidable.”
“I gather this because I find that they have professors of the English language and literature there, and I note that in the schools there are certain hours allotted for English under instructors who specialize in that subject.”
“The effect of English on the French, says Elliott, has been immeasurably greater than that of French on the English .”
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