Alternative Names For The British

This glossary of names for the British include nicknames and terms, including affectionate ones, neutral ones, and derogatory ones to describe British people, and more specifically English, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish people. Many of these terms may vary between offensive, derogatory, neutral and affectionate depending on a complex combination of tone, facial expression, context, usage, speaker and shared past history.

Terms for the British in English

Brit

Brit is a commonly used term in the United States, the Republic of Ireland and elsewhere, shortened from "Briton" or "Britisher".

Britisher

An archaic form of "Briton", similar to "Brit", being much more frequently used in North America than Britain itself, but even there, it is outdated. An equivalent of the word "Engländer", which is the German noun for "Englishman". The term was also used extensively during the period of British rule in India and is still used in the Indian subcontinent.

Limey

The term originated in the 1850s as "lime-juicer", and was later shortened to "limey". It was originally used as a derogatory word for sailors in the Royal Navy, because of the Royal Navy's practice since the beginning of the 19th century of adding lemon juice or lime juice to the sailors' daily ration of watered-down rum (known as grog), in order to prevent scurvy.

Eventually the term lost its naval connection and was used about British people in general. In the 1880s, it was used to refer to British emigrants in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. By 1925, its usage in American English had been extended to mean any Briton, and the expression was so commonly known that it was used in American newspaper headlines.

Pommy or pom

The terms pommy, pommie, and pom used in Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand usually denote a British person. Newspapers in Australia were using the term by 1912. The '' Oxford Dictionary'' defines its use as "often derogatory", but after complaints to the Australian Advertising Standards Board about five advertisements using the term "poms", the board ruled in 2006 that these words are inoffensive, in part because they are "largely used in playful or affectionate terms". The New Zealand Broadcasting Standards Authority made a similar ruling in 2010. The BBC, the British national broadcaster, has used the phrase on occasion. Disputes about whether the term is offensive have occurred since 1925.

There are several folk etymologies for "pommy" or "pom". The best-documented of these is that "pommy" originated as a contraction of " pomegranate". According to this explanation, "pomegranate" was Australian rhyming slang for "immigrant" (like "Jimmy Grant").Tom McArthur (ed.), 1992, ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'', Oxford, Oxford University Press, p384. Usage of "pomegranate" for English people may have been strengthened by a belief in Australia that sunburn occurs more frequently amongst English immigrants, turning those with fair skin the colour of pomegranates. Another explanation – now generally considered to be a false etymology – was that "pom" or "pommy" were derived from an acronym such as POM ("prisoner of Millbank"), POME ("prisoner of Mother England") or POHMS ("prisoner of Her Majesty's Service"). However, there is no evidence that such terms, or their acronyms, were used in Australia when "pom" and "pommy" entered use there. Other theories are that they come from the use of "pom-pom" guns by the British in the First and Second Boer Wars, from a corruption of "Tommy Atkins", or from "Pompey", a nickname for Portsmouth.

Tan

A pejorative used colloquially in Ireland, referring to the Black and Tan forces supplied by David Lloyd George to Ireland during the Irish War of Independence in order to assist the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) in combating the Irish Republican Army (IRA). The force was composed mainly of First World War British Army veterans, who wore distinctive Khaki British Army uniforms with dark RIC overcoats. The term's use is often used in Irish republican contexts. By extension, Great Britain is sometimes referred to as "Tanland".

Tommy

The name Tommy for any soldier in the British Army is particularly associated with World War I. The German, the French and the British Commonwealth armies used the name "Tommy" for British soldiers. "Tommy" is derived from the name " Tommy Atkins" which had been used as a generic name for a soldier for many years (and had been used as an example name on British Army registration forms). The precise origin is the subject of some debate, but it is known to have been used as early as 1743. Rudyard Kipling published the poem " Tommy" (part of the ''Barrack Room Ballads'') in 1892 and in 1893 the music hall song "Private Tommy Atkins" was published with words by Henry Hamilton and music by S. Potter. In 1898 William McGonagall wrote "Lines in Praise of Tommy Atkins". The term is still used today in the British Army in the abridged version "Tom", especially in the Infantry Regiments, to specifically refer to a junior enlisted soldier.

In languages other than English

Europe

In Finnish the abbreviation of iso-britannialainen (literally "Great/Large Briton") ''Britti'' is colloquially most commonly used for a British person, often also referring interchangeably to a person from England.

In Polish a common formal term to describe an Englishman is ''Anglik'', derived from the Polish word for England, ''Anglia'', with the word ''Brytyjczyk'' meaning Briton, from the Polish name for Great Britain, ''Wielka Brytania''. Derogatory or disdainful (or sometimes just amicable) terms coined in recent years are ''Angol'' and ''Brytol'' respectively; however, due to negative connotations they are not used in formal writing or by the media.

In the Czech Republic the term ''Anglán'' is often used, which has the same roots as the Polish ''Anglik'' – the Czechs call England ''Anglie''. This word carried no derogatory connotations. However, unlike the formal ''Angličan'', it is not used by the press because of its informality.

In Hungary the English people are called ''angol'' or in plural ''angolok''. England is called ''Anglia''. British people in general are called ''brit'' or in plural ''britek'' but the term is less widespread. Great Britain is called ''Nagy-Britannia'' but the United Kingdom is called ''Egyesült Királyság''.

''Inselaffe'' / ''Insel-Affe''

''Inselaffe'' ("island ape") is a pejorative German term allegedly dating back to English scientists Darwin and Wallace's publications on evolution.

''Rosbif''/''Rosbeef''/''Bife''

The original explanation of the French term ''rosbif'' is that it referred to the English tradition of cooking roast beef, and especially to the song " The Roast Beef of Old England".

In Portugal, the term ''bife'' (literally meaning ' steak', but sounding like "beef") is used as a slang term to refer to the English. There is a feminine form, ''bifa'', mainly used to refer to English female tourists in Portugal.

''Les goddams''

'' Les goddams'' (sometimes ''les goddems'' or ''les goddons'') is an obsolete ethnic slur historically used by the French to refer to the English, based on their frequent expletives. The name originated during the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453) between England and France, when English soldiers achieved notoriety among the French for their frequent use of profanity and in particular the interjection "God damn".

''Brittunculi''

In one of the Vindolanda tablets from Hadrian's Wall the pejorative Latin word ''Brittunculi'' (wretched little Britons) is used – presumably by a Roman official – in a commentary on the Britons' military tactics.

Africa

Afrikaans speakers may use the term ''rooinek'' (literally 'red neck', another reference to sunburning) in reference to the British, or to White South Africans of British descent. During the Second Boer War, the British became known as khakis, in reference to the colour of their uniforms – which, by then, was no longer the red coats as those were unsuitable for the South African climate.

Another common term used by Afrikaners to describe the British in South Africa is ''soutie'' or ''soutpiel'', meaning 'salty' or 'salty penis' respectively. The meaning behind this is that they have one foot in Britain and one foot in South Africa, leaving their penis to hang in the salty sea water.

In the East African Bantu languages ''mzungu'' has come to mean any white European but more often than not especially the British or English, due to their prior presence in the region.

Middle East

During the British Mandate in Palestine, British troops were often referred to as ''כלניות'' or ''Kalaniot'', being Hebrew for Anemones, reflecting the troops' red berets.

Some Arab people refer to mostly people from the western world or predominantly white countries as "Khawwāja". This name is referred but not limited to white people only, although if a person belongs to such a country and speaks the tongue he is also classified as one.

In Iraq, British occupying forces post WWI were known as “Abu Naji”

Indian subcontinent

In Hindi, Hindustani and Urdu

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