United Kingdom

== Etymology and terminology ==
{{Anchor|Etymology}}<!--linked-->
{{See also|Britain (place name)|Terminology of the British Isles}}

The [[Acts of Union 1707]] declared that the [[Kingdom of England]] and [[Kingdom of Scotland]] were "United into One Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain".{{Efn|Compare to section 1 of both of the 1800 [[Acts of Union (1800)|Acts of Union]] which reads: the ''Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland shall...be united into one Kingdom, by the Name of "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland"''.}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Treaty (act) of the Union of Parliament 1706 |url=http://www.scotshistoryonline.co.uk/union.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190527074630/http://www.scotshistoryonline.co.uk/union.html |archive-date=27 May 2019 |access-date=23 August 2011 |publisher=Scots History Online |postscript=; }} {{Cite book |last1=Barnett, Hilaire |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LYc1tSYonrQC&pg=PA165 |title=Constitutional & Administrative Law |last2=Jago, Robert |publisher=Routledge |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-415-56301-7 |edition=8th |location=Abingdon |page=165 |access-date=29 September 2020 |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328140722/https://books.google.com/books?id=LYc1tSYonrQC&pg=PA165 |url-status=live }}</ref> The term "United Kingdom" has occasionally been used as a description for the former [[Kingdom of Great Britain]], although its official name from 1707 to 1800 was simply "Great Britain".<ref>"After the political union of England and Scotland in 1707, the nation's official name became 'Great Britain{{'"}}, ''The American Pageant, Volume 1'', Cengage Learning (2012); "From 1707 until 1801 ''Great Britain'' was the official designation of the kingdoms of England and Scotland". ''The Standard Reference Work: For the Home, School and Library, Volume 3'', Harold Melvin Stanford (1921); "In 1707, on the union with Scotland, 'Great Britain' became the official name of the British Kingdom, and so continued until the union with Ireland in 1801". ''United States Congressional serial set, Issue 10; Issue 3265'' (1895); {{Cite web |last=Gascoigne, Bamber |author-link=Bamber Gascoigne |title=History of Great Britain (from 1707) |url=http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ab07 |access-date=18 July 2011 |publisher=History World |archive-date=27 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190527205230/http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ab07 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Acts of Union 1800]] united the kingdoms of [[Great Britain]] and [[Kingdom of Ireland|Ireland]] in 1801, forming the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]]. Following the [[partition of Ireland]] and the independence of the [[Irish Free State]] in 1922, which left [[Northern Ireland]] as the only part of the island of Ireland within the United Kingdom, the name was changed in 1927 to the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cottrell, P. |url=https://archive.org/details/irishcivilwar00cott_573 |title=The Irish Civil War 1922–23 |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-84603-270-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/irishcivilwar00cott_573/page/n85 85] |publisher=Bloomsbury USA |url-access=limited}}</ref>

Although the United Kingdom is a sovereign country, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are also widely referred to as [[countries]].<ref>{{Citation |last1=S. Dunn |title=An Alphabetical Listing of Word, Name and Place in Northern Ireland and the Living Language of Conflict |year=2000 |place=[[Lewiston, New York]] |publisher=[[Edwin Mellen Press]] |quote=One specific problem – in both general and particular senses – is to know what to call Northern Ireland itself: in the general sense, it is not a country, or a province, or a state – although some refer to it contemptuously as a statelet: the least controversial word appears to be jurisdiction, but this might change. |last2=H. Dawson}}; {{Cite web |date=15 December 2011 |title=Changes in the list of subdivision names and code elements |url=http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_3166-2_newsletter_ii-3_2011-12-13.pdf |access-date=28 May 2012 |website=ISO 3166-2 |publisher=International Organization for Standardization |archive-date=19 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919073956/http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_3166-2_newsletter_ii-3_2011-12-13.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The UK Prime Minister's website has used the phrase "countries within a country" to describe the United Kingdom.<ref name="page823">{{Cite web |date=10 January 2003 |title=Countries within a country |url=http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page823 |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20080909013512/http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page823 |archive-date=9 September 2008 |access-date=8 March 2015 |publisher=Prime Minister's Office}}</ref> Some statistical summaries, such as those for the twelve [[NUTS of the United Kingdom|NUTS 1 regions]] refer to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as "regions".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Statistical bulletin: Regional Labour Market Statistics |url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_346117.xml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141224045523/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_346117.xml |archive-date=24 December 2014 |access-date=5 March 2014}}; {{Cite web |title=13.4% Fall In Earnings Value During Recession |url=http://www.gmb.org.uk/newsroom/fall-in-earnings-value-during-recession |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103194604/http://www.gmb.org.uk/newsroom/fall-in-earnings-value-during-recession |archive-date=3 January 2014 |access-date=5 March 2014}}</ref> Northern Ireland is also referred to as a "province".<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Dunn, Seamus |title=An Alphabetical Listing of Word, Name and Place in Northern Ireland and the Living Language of Conflict |last2=Dawson, Helen |publisher=[[Edwin Mellen Press]] |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-7734-7711-7 |location=[[Lewiston, New York]]}}; {{Cite book |last=Murphy, Dervla |title=[[A Place Apart]] |publisher=Penguin |year=1979 |isbn=978-0-14-005030-1 |location=London}}</ref> With regard to Northern Ireland, the descriptive name used "can be controversial, with the choice often revealing one's political preferences".<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Whyte |first1=John |title=Interpreting Northern Ireland |last2=FitzGerald |first2=Garret |publisher=Clarendon Press |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-19-827380-6 |location=Oxford |author-link=John Henry Whyte |author-link2=Garret FitzGerald}}</ref>

The term "Great Britain" conventionally refers to the island of Great Britain, or politically to England, Scotland and Wales in combination.<ref>{{Cite news |date=19 December 2008 |title=Guardian Unlimited Style Guide |publisher=Guardian News and Media Limited |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/styleguide/page/0,,184840,00.html |access-date=23 August 2011 }}; {{Cite news |date=19 August 2002 |title=BBC style guide (Great Britain) |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/radio_newsroom/1099593.stm#g |access-date=23 August 2011 |archive-date=15 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215074832/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/radio_newsroom/1099593.stm#g |url-status=live }}; {{Cite web |title=Key facts about the United Kingdom |url=http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/LivingintheUK/DG_10012517 |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121015000000/http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/LivingintheUK/DG_10012517 |archive-date=15 October 2012 |access-date=8 March 2015 |website=Government, citizens and rights |publisher=HM Government }}</ref> It is sometimes used as a loose synonym for the United Kingdom as a whole.<ref>[[New Oxford American Dictionary]]: "Great Britain: England, Wales, and Scotland considered as a unit. The name is also often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom."</ref> The word ''England'' is occasionally used incorrectly to refer to the United Kingdom as a whole, a mistake principally made by people from outside the UK.<ref>"When people say England, they sometimes mean Great Britain, sometimes the United Kingdom, sometimes the British Isles — but never England." — {{Citation |last=George Mikes |title=How To Be An Alien |year=1946 |publisher=Penguin}} {{ISBN|978-0-582-41686-4}}; {{Cite web |title=England OR United Kingdom (UK)? {{!}} Vocabulary {{!}} EnglishClub |url=https://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/cw-uk-england.htm |access-date=16 October 2022 |website=www.englishclub.com |archive-date=16 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016192638/https://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/cw-uk-england.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Britain (place name)|term "Britain"]] is used as a synonym for [[Great Britain]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Britain Meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/britain |website=dictionary.cambridge.org |access-date=19 June 2018 |archive-date=20 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620024348/https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/britain |url-status=live }}; {{Cite web |title=Definition of Britain in English by Oxford Dictionaries |url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/britain |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160926204707/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/britain |archive-date=26 September 2016 |website=Oxford Dictionaries – English }}</ref><ref name="Britain-Col">{{Cite web |title=Britain definition and meaning |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/britain |website=www.collinsdictionary.com |publisher=Collins English Dictionary |access-date=19 June 2018 |archive-date=20 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620024837/https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/britain |url-status=live }}</ref> and the United Kingdom.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Britain – Definition for English-Language Learners |url=http://learnersdictionary.com/definition/Britain |website=learnersdictionary.com |publisher=Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary |access-date=19 June 2018 |archive-date=20 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620024648/http://learnersdictionary.com/definition/Britain |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Britain-Col" /> Usage is mixed: the [[Government of the United Kingdom|UK Government]] prefers to use the term "UK" rather than "Britain" or "British" on its website (except when referring to embassies),<ref>{{Cite web |title=A to Z – Style guide |url=https://www.gov.uk/guidance/style-guide/a-to-z-of-gov-uk-style#B |website=www.gov.uk |publisher=UK Government |access-date=17 June 2018 |archive-date=7 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807183523/https://www.gov.uk/guidance/style-guide/a-to-z-of-gov-uk-style#B |url-status=live }}</ref> while acknowledging that both terms refer to the United Kingdom and that elsewhere "British government" is used at least as frequently as "United Kingdom government".<ref name="PCGN-uk-guide">{{Cite web |last=Permanent Committee on Geographical Names |title=Toponymic guidelines for the United Kingdom |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/toponymic-guidelines |website=gov.uk |date=17 May 2023 |publisher=UK Government |access-date=17 June 2018 |archive-date=17 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617165832/https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/toponymic-guidelines |url-status=live }}</ref> The UK [[Permanent Committee on Geographical Names]] recognises "United Kingdom", "UK" and "U.K." as shortened and abbreviated geopolitical terms for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in its toponymic guidelines; it does not list "Britain" but notes that "it is only the one specific nominal term 'Great Britain' which invariably excludes Northern Ireland".<ref name="PCGN-uk-guide" /> The [[BBC]] historically preferred to use "Britain" as shorthand only for Great Britain, though the present style guide does not take a position except that "Great Britain" excludes Northern Ireland.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC News style guide – Names |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/academy/en/articles/art20130702112133537 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191110082858/https://www.bbc.co.uk/academy/en/articles/art20130702112133537 |archive-date=10 November 2019 |access-date=9 November 2019 |website=BBC Academy |publisher=BBC}}; {{Cite web |title=Alphabetical checklist |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/academy/journalism/news-style-guide/article/art20130702112133551 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326162901/http://www.bbc.co.uk/academy/journalism/news-style-guide/article/art20130702112133551 |archive-date=26 March 2018 |access-date=17 June 2018 |website=BBC News |publisher=BBC}}</ref>

The adjective "British" is commonly used to refer to matters relating to the United Kingdom and is used in law to refer to United Kingdom citizenship and [[British nationality law|matters to do with nationality]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bradley, Anthony Wilfred |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HT_GS2zgN5QC&pg=PA36 |title=Constitutional and administrative law |last2=Ewing, Keith D. |publisher=Pearson Longman |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-4058-1207-8 |edition=14th |volume=1 |location=Harlow |page=36 |access-date=29 September 2020 |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328140723/https://books.google.com/books?id=HT_GS2zgN5QC&pg=PA36 |url-status=live }}</ref> People of the United Kingdom use several different terms to describe their national identity and may identify themselves as being [[British people|British]], [[English people|English]], [[Scottish people|Scottish]], [[Welsh people|Welsh]], [[People of Northern Ireland|Northern Irish]], or [[Irish people|Irish]];<ref>{{Cite web |year=2010 |title=Which of these best describes the way you think of yourself? |url=http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/2010/Community_Relations/NINATID.html |access-date=1 July 2010 |website=Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey 2010 |publisher=ARK&nbsp;– Access Research Knowledge |archive-date=23 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923175111/http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/2010/Community_Relations/NINATID.html |url-status=live }}</ref> or as having a combination of different national identities.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ethnicity and National Identity in England and Wales |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/ethnicity/articles/ethnicityandnationalidentityinenglandandwales/2012-12-11 |access-date=25 June 2020 |website=Office for National Statistics |archive-date=21 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121012603/https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/ethnicity/articles/ethnicityandnationalidentityinenglandandwales/2012-12-11 |url-status=live }}; {{Cite book |last=Schrijver, Frans |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u8gZklxHTMUC&pg=PA275 |title=Regionalism after regionalisation: Spain, France and the United Kingdom |publisher=Amsterdam University Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-90-5629-428-1 |pages=275–277 |access-date=29 September 2020 |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328140905/https://books.google.com/books?id=u8gZklxHTMUC&pg=PA275#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> The official designation for a citizen of the United Kingdom is "British citizen".<ref name="PCGN-uk-guide" />