Great Britain

==Terminology==
{{See also|Terminology of the British Isles}}
===Toponymy===
{{Main|Britain (place name)}}
The [[archipelago]] has been referred to by a single name for over 2000 years: the term '[[British Isles]]' derives from terms used by classical geographers to describe this island group. By 50 BC, Greek geographers were using equivalents of ''Prettanikē'' as a collective name for the British Isles.<ref>{{Harvnb|O'Rahilly| 1946}}</ref> However, with the [[Roman conquest of Britain]], the Latin term ''[[Britannia]]'' was used for the island of Great Britain, and later [[Roman Britain|Roman-occupied Britain]] south of [[Caledonia]].<ref>[[s:Commentaries on the Gallic War/Book 4#20|4.20]] provides a translation describing Caesar's first invasion, using terms which from [[s:la:Commentarii de bello Gallico/Liber IV|IV.XX]] appear in [[Latin]] as arriving in "Britannia", the inhabitants being "Britanni", and on p30 "principes Britanniae" (i.e., "chiefs of Britannia") is translated as "chiefs of Britain".</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Cunliffe|2002|pp=94–95}}</ref><ref name="sax1">{{cite web | title = Anglo-Saxons | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/anglo_saxons/ | work = BBC News | access-date = 5 September 2009}}</ref>

The earliest known name for Great Britain is ''[[Albion]]'' ({{lang-el|Ἀλβιών}}) or ''insula Albionum'', from either the Latin ''albus'' meaning "white" (possibly referring to the [[white cliffs of Dover]], the first view of Britain from the continent) or the "island of the ''Albiones''".<ref name="snyder">{{Cite book
 | last = Snyder
 | first = Christopher A.
 | title = The Britons
 | publisher = [[Blackwell Publishing]]
 | year = 2003
 | page = [https://archive.org/details/britons00snyd/page/12 12]
 | isbn = 978-0-631-22260-6
 | url = https://archive.org/details/britons00snyd/page/12
 }}</ref> The oldest mention of terms related to Great Britain was by [[Aristotle]] (384–322 BC), or possibly by [[Pseudo-Aristotle]], in his text ''[[On the Universe]]'', Vol. III. To quote his works, "There are two very large islands in it, called the British Isles, Albion and [[Ierne (placename)|Ierne]]".<ref>"... ἐν τούτῳ γε μὴν νῆσοι μέγιστοι τυγχάνουσιν οὖσαι δύο, Βρεττανικαὶ λεγόμεναι, Ἀλβίων καὶ Ἰέρνη, ...", transliteration "... en toutôi ge mên nêsoi megistoi tynchanousin ousai dyo, Brettanikai legomenai, Albiôn kai Iernê, ...", ''Aristotle: On Sophistical Refutations. On Coming-to-be and Passing Away. On the Cosmos.'', 393b, pages 360–361, Loeb Classical Library No. 400, London William Heinemann LTD, Cambridge, Massachusetts University Press MCMLV</ref>

[[Image:Pythéas.jpg|thumb|right|[[Ancient Greece|Greek]] geographer, [[Pytheas of Massalia]]]]

The first known written use of the word Britain was an [[ancient Greek]] [[transliteration]] of the original Proto-Celtic term in a work on the travels and discoveries of Pytheas that has not survived. The earliest existing records of the word are quotations of the periplus by later authors, such as those within Strabo's ''[[Geographica]]'', Pliny's ''[[Naturalis Historia|Natural History]]'' and Diodorus of Sicily's ''[[Bibliotheca historica]]''.<ref>Book I.4.2–4, Book II.3.5, Book III.2.11 and 4.4, Book IV.2.1, Book IV.4.1, Book IV.5.5, Book VII.3.1</ref> [[Pliny the Elder]] (AD 23–79) in his ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Natural History]]'' records of Great Britain: "Its former name was Albion; but at a later period, all the islands, of which we shall just now briefly make mention, were included under the name of 'Britanniæ.'"<ref name="PlinyE(4.41)">Pliny the Elder's ''Naturalis Historia'' Book IV. Chapter XLI [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Plin.+Nat.+4.41&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0138 Latin text] and
[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137%3Abook%3D4%3Achapter%3D30 English translation], numbered Book 4, Chapter 30,
at the [[Perseus Project]].</ref>

The name ''Britain'' descends from the Latin name for Britain, ''Britannia'' or ''Brittānia'', the land of the Britons.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why is Britain Called Britain? |url=https://www.these-islands.co.uk/publications/i281/why_is_britain_called_britain.aspx |access-date=25 August 2023 |website=www.these-islands.co.uk}}</ref> [[Old French]] ''Bretaigne'' (whence also [[Modern French]] ''Bretagne'') and [[Middle English]] ''Bretayne'', ''Breteyne''. The French form replaced the [[Old English]] ''Breoton, Breoten, Bryten, Breten'' (also ''Breoton-lond, Breten-lond''). Britannia was used by the Romans from the 1st century BC for the British Isles taken together. It is derived from the travel writings of Pytheas around 320 BC, which described various islands in the North Atlantic as far north as [[Thule]] (probably [[Norway]]).

The peoples of these islands of ''Prettanike'' were called the Πρεττανοί, ''[[Priteni]]'' or ''Pretani''.<ref name=snyder/>
''Priteni'' is the source of the [[Welsh language]] term [[Prydain]], ''Britain'', which has the same source as the [[Goidelic languages|Goidelic]] term [[Cruithne (people)|Cruithne]] used to refer to the early [[Brythonic languages|Brythonic]]-speaking inhabitants of Ireland.<ref>{{Cite book
 | editor-last = Foster
 | editor-first = R F
 | first1 = Donnchadh, Professor of Irish History at University College Cork
 | last1 = O Corrain
 | chapter = Chapter 1: ''Prehistoric and Early Christian Ireland''
 | title = The Oxford History of Ireland
 | publisher = Oxford University Press
 | date = 1 November 2001
| isbn = 978-0-19-280202-6
 | url = https://archive.org/details/oxfordhistoryofi00rffo
 }}</ref> The latter were later called [[Picts]] or [[Caledonians]] by the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]]. Greek historians [[Diodorus of Sicily]] and [[Strabo]] preserved variants of ''Prettanike'' from the work of Greek explorer [[Pytheas]] of [[Marseille|Massalia]], who travelled from his home in [[Hellenistic]] southern [[Gaul]] to Britain in the 4th century BC. The term used by Pytheas may derive from a Celtic word meaning "the painted ones" or "the tattooed folk" in reference to [[woad|body decorations]].<ref>Cunliffe, Barry (2012). ''Britain Begins.'' Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. p. 4, {{ISBN|978-0-19-967945-4}}.</ref> According to Strabo, Pytheas referred to Britain as ''Bretannikē'', which is treated a feminine noun.<ref name=LSJBrettanike>{{LSJ|*bretaniko/s|Βρεττανική|ref}}</ref><ref name=Strabo(1.4.2)>Strabo's ''Geography'' Book I. Chapter IV. Section 2 [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0197%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D4%3Asection%3D2 Greek text] and [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0239%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D4%3Asection%3D2 English translation] at the [[Perseus Project]].</ref><ref name=Strabo(4.2.1)>Strabo's ''Geography'' Book IV. Chapter II. Section 1 [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0197%3Abook%3D4%3Achapter%3D2%3Asection%3D1 Greek text] and [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0239%3Abook%3D4%3Achapter%3D2%3Asection%3D1 English translation] at the [[Perseus Project]].</ref><ref name=Strabo(4.4.1)>Strabo's ''Geography'' Book IV. Chapter IV. Section 1 [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0197%3Abook%3D4%3Achapter%3D4%3Asection%3D1 Greek text] and [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0239%3Abook%3D4%3Achapter%3D4%3Asection%3D1 English translation] at the [[Perseus Project]].</ref> [[Marcian of Heraclea]], in his ''Periplus maris exteri'', described the island group as {{lang|grc|αἱ Πρεττανικαὶ νῆσοι}} (the Prettanic Isles).<ref name=MarcianPeriplus>{{cite book|title=Geographi Graeci Minores|volume= 1|chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/geographigraeci03mlgoog#page/n680/mode/2up|author1=[[Marcian of Heraclea|Marcianus Heracleensis]]|last2=Müller|first2=Karl Otfried|author-link2=Karl Otfried Müller|chapter=Periplus Maris Exteri, Liber Prior, Prooemium| pages=516–517|editor1-last=Firmin Didot|editor1-first=Ambrosio|location=Paris|year=1855|publisher= editore Firmin Didot|display-authors=etal}} Greek text and Latin Translation thereof archived at the [[Internet Archive]].</ref>

===Derivation of ''Great''===
[[File:Ptolemy-british-isles.jpg|thumb|A 1490 Italian reconstruction of the relevant map of [[Ptolemy]] who combined the lines of roads and of the coasting expeditions during the first century of Roman occupation. Two great faults, however, are an eastward-projecting Scotland and none of Ireland seen to be at the same latitude of Wales, which may have been if Ptolemy used Pytheas' measurements of latitude.<ref>{{cite journal |first=James J. |last=Tierney |title=Ptolemy's Map of Scotland |journal=The Journal of Hellenic Studies |volume=79 |year=1959 |pages=132–148 |doi=10.2307/627926 |jstor=627926|s2cid=163631018 }}</ref> Whether he did so is a much debated issue. This "copy" appears in blue below.]]
The [[Greeks in Egypt|Greco-Egyptian]] scientist [[Ptolemy]] referred to the larger island as ''great Britain'' (μεγάλη Βρεττανία ''megale Brettania'') and to Ireland as ''little Britain'' (μικρὰ Βρεττανία ''mikra Brettania'') in his work ''[[Almagest]]'' (147–148 AD).<ref>{{cite book|title=Claudii Ptolemaei Opera quae exstant omnia|first=Claudius|last=Ptolemy|author-link=Ptolemy|editor1-last=Heiberg|editor1-first=J.L.|publisher=in aedibus B. G. Teubneri|location=Leipzig|year=1898|volume=1 Syntaxis Mathematica|chapter-url=http://www.wilbourhall.org/pdfs/HeibergAlmagestComplete.pdf|pages=112–113|chapter=Ἕκθεσις τῶν κατὰ παράλληλον ἰδιωμάτων: κβ', κε'}}</ref> In his later work, ''[[Geography (Ptolemy)|Geography]]'' ({{Circa|150 AD}}), he gave the islands the names ''[[Albion|Alwion]]'', ''[[Hibernia|Iwernia]]'', and ''Mona'' (the [[Isle of Man]]),<ref>{{cite book|title=Claudii Ptolemaei Geographia|first=Claudius|last=Ptolemy|author-link=Ptolemy|editor1-last=Nobbe|editor1-first=Carolus Fridericus Augustus|publisher=sumptibus et typis Caroli Tauchnitii |location=Leipzig|year=1843|volume=1|chapter-url=http://www.wilbourhall.org/pdfs/ptolemy/Claudii_Ptolemaei_GeographiaVOL_I.pdf|pages=59, 67|chapter=Book II, Prooemium and chapter β', paragraph 12}}</ref> suggesting these may have been the names of the individual islands not known to him at the time of writing ''Almagest''.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Freeman |first=Philip |title=Ireland and the classical world |publisher=University of Texas Press |year=2001 |location=Austin, Texas |page=65 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZSHhfOM-5AEC&pg=PA65 |isbn=978-0-292-72518-8 }}</ref> The name ''Albion'' appears to have fallen out of use sometime after the [[Roman conquest of Britain]], after which ''Britain'' became the more commonplace name for the island.<ref name="snyder" />

After the Anglo-Saxon period, ''Britain'' was used as a historical term only. [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]] in his [[pseudohistory|pseudohistorical]] {{Lang|la|[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]}} ({{Circa|1136}}) refers to the
island of Great Britain as ''Britannia major'' ("Greater Britain"), to distinguish it from ''Britannia minor'' ("Lesser Britain"), the continental region which approximates to modern [[Brittany]] and had been settled in the fifth and sixth centuries by [[Celtic Briton]] migrants from Great Britain.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}

The term ''Great Britain'' was first used officially in 1474, in the instrument drawing up the proposal for a marriage between [[Cecily of York|Cecily]], daughter of [[Edward IV of England]], and [[James IV of Scotland|James]], son of [[James III of Scotland]], which described it as "this Nobill Isle, callit Gret Britanee". The Scottish philosopher and historian, [[John Major (philosopher)|John Major]] (Mair), published his 'History of Great Britain, both England and Scotland' (''Historia majoris Britanniae, tam Angliae quam Scotiae'') in 1521. While promoting a possible royal match in 1548, [[Lord Protector Somerset]] said that the English and Scots were, "like as twoo brethren of one Islande of great Britaynes again." In 1604, [[James VI and I]] styled himself "King of Great Brittaine, France and Ireland".<ref>Nicholls, Andrew D., [https://books.google.com/books?id=r5gEbF0yyLMC ''The Jacobean Union: A Reconsideration of British Civil Policies Under the Early Stuarts'', 1999. p. 5.]</ref>

===Modern use of the term ''Great Britain''===
''Great Britain'' refers geographically to the island of Great Britain. Politically, it may refer to the whole of [[England]], [[Scotland]] and [[Wales]], including their smaller offshore islands.<ref>{{Cite book|title=UK 2005: The Official Yearbook of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland|place=London|publisher=Office for National Statistics|pages=vii|date= 29 November 2004|isbn = 978-0-11-621738-7|url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/social-trends-rd/the-official-yearbook-of-the-united-kingdom/2005-edition/index.html|access-date=27 May 2012}}</ref> It is not technically correct to use the term to refer to the whole of the [[United Kingdom]] which includes [[Northern Ireland]], though the Oxford English Dictionary states "...the term is also used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom."<ref name=oed>{{citation|url=http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/Great-Britain?q=Great+Britain|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004223902/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/Great-Britain?q=Great+Britain|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 October 2013|title=Oxford English Dictionary|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|quote=Great Britain: England, Wales, and Scotland considered as a unit. The name is also often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom.<br />Great Britain is the name of the island that comprises England, Scotland, and Wales, although the term is also used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom is a political unit that includes these countries and Northern Ireland. The British Isles is a geographical term that refers to the United Kingdom, Ireland, and surrounding smaller islands such as the Hebrides and the Channel Islands.}}</ref><ref name=brock>{{citation|first=Colin|last=Brock|title=Geography of Education: Scale, Space and Location in the Study of Education|publisher=Bloomsbury|location=London|date=2018|quote=The political territory of Northern Ireland is not part of Britain, but is part of the nation 'The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland' (UK). Great Britain comprises England, Scotland and Wales.}}</ref>

Similarly, ''[[Britain (disambiguation)|Britain]]'' can refer to either all islands in Great Britain, the largest island, or the political grouping of countries.<ref>{{citation|publisher=Oxford English Dictionary|quote=Britain:/ˈbrɪt(ə)n/ the island containing England, Wales, and Scotland. The name is broadly synonymous with Great Britain, but the longer form is more usual for the political unit.|url=http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/Britain|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722120139/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/Britain|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 July 2011|title=Britain}}</ref> There is no clear distinction, even in government documents: the UK government yearbooks have used both ''Britain''<ref>{{Cite book|title=Britain 2001:The Official Yearbook of the United Kingdom, 2001 |place=London |publisher=Office for National Statistics |pages=vii |date=August 2000 |isbn=978-0-11-621278-8 |url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_compendia/britain2001.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110313045848/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_compendia/britain2001.pdf |archive-date=13 March 2011 }}</ref> and ''United Kingdom''.<ref>{{Cite book|title=UK 2002: The Official Yearbook of Great Britain and Northern Ireland |place=London |publisher=Office for National Statistics |pages=vi |date=August 2001 |isbn=978-0-11-621738-7 |url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_compendia/UK2005/UK2005.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070322170244/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_compendia/UK2005/UK2005.pdf |archive-date=22 March 2007 }}</ref>

''GB'' and ''GBR'' are used instead of ''UK'' in some international codes to refer to the United Kingdom, including the [[Universal Postal Union]], international sports teams, [[NATO]], and the [[International Organization for Standardization]] country codes [[ISO 3166-2:GB|ISO 3166-2]] and [[ISO 3166-1 alpha-3]], whilst the [[List of aircraft registration prefixes|aircraft registration prefix]] is G.

On the Internet, [[.uk]] is the [[country code top-level domain]] for the United Kingdom. A [[.gb]] top-level domain was used to a limited extent, but is now deprecated; although existing registrations still exist (mainly by government organizations and email providers), the domain name registrar will not take new registrations.

In the Olympics, ''[[Team GB]]'' is used by the [[British Olympic Association]] to represent the [[Great Britain at the Olympics|British Olympic team]]. The [[Olympic Council of Ireland|Olympic Federation of Ireland]] represents the whole [[Ireland|island of Ireland]], and Northern Irish sportspeople may choose to compete for either team,<ref>[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/2004/oct/21/olympic-games-participation HL Deb 21 October 2004 vol 665 c99WA] Hansard</ref> most choosing to represent Ireland.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-19019557|title=Who's who? Meet Northern Ireland's Olympic hopefuls in Team GB and Team IRE|website=[[BBC Online|www.BBC.co.uk]]|publisher=[[BBC News]]|date=28 July 2012}}</ref>

===Political definition===
[[File:England, Scotland and Wales within the UK and Europe.svg|thumb|alt=|<div style="font-size:11px; text-align: center;">Political definition of Great Britain (<small>dark green</small>)</div><div style="font-size:11px">&nbsp;– in [[Europe]] (<small>green & dark grey</small>)</div><div style="font-size:11px">&nbsp;– in the [[United Kingdom]] (<small>green</small>)</div>]]
Politically, ''Great Britain'' refers to the whole of [[England]], [[Scotland]] and [[Wales]] in combination,<ref name="Key facts about the United Kingdom">{{cite web|title=Key facts about the United Kingdom |publisher=Direct.gov.uk |url=http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/LivingintheUK/DG_10012517 |access-date=11 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081115150128/http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/LivingintheUK/DG_10012517 |archive-date=15 November 2008 }}</ref> but not [[Northern Ireland]]; it includes islands, such as the [[Isle of Wight]], [[Anglesey]], the [[Isles of Scilly]], the [[Hebrides]] and the island groups of [[Orkney]] and [[Shetland]], that are part of England, Wales, or Scotland. It does not include the [[Isle of Man]] and the [[Channel Islands]].<ref name="Key facts about the United Kingdom"/><ref>{{Cite book| last = Ademuni-Odeke | title = Bareboat Charter (ship) Registration | publisher = Martinus Nijhoff Publishers | year = 1998 | page = 367 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=rvIWmznNEGYC&q=great+britain+political+definition+isle+of+man&pg=PA367 | isbn = 978-90-411-0513-4}}</ref>

The political union that joined the kingdoms of [[Kingdom of England|England]] and [[Kingdom of Scotland|Scotland]] happened in 1707 when the [[Acts of Union 1707|Acts of Union]] ratified the 1706 [[Treaty of Union]] and merged the parliaments of the two nations, forming the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]], which covered the entire island. Before this, a [[personal union]] had existed between these two countries since the 1603 [[Union of the Crowns]] under [[James VI of Scotland and I of England]].{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}
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