English
english
see also: English
Pronunciation
  • (America) IPA: /ˈɪŋ.ɡlɪʃ/
Noun

english (uncountable)

  1. (uncountable, North American) Spinning or rotary motion given to a ball around the vertical axis, as in pool, billiards or bowling; spin, sidespin.
    You can't hit it directly, but maybe if you give it some english.
    • 2005, S. Moran, Bronx Boy: Book One of The Zombie Island Trilogy, page 179:
      There was a magical way of putting English on the dice to result in a six.
  2. (by extension, figurative) An unusual or unexpected interpretation of a text or idea, a spin, a nuance.
Synonyms Translations Verb

english (englishes, present participle englishing; simple past and past participle englished)

  1. (transitive, ;, archaic or rare) Alternative form of English.
English
Etymology

From Middle English Englisch, English, Inglis, from Old English Englisċ, from Engle ("the Angles"), a Germanic tribe + -isċ; equivalent to Engle + -ish.

Pronunciation
  • (British) IPA: /ˈɪŋɡlɪʃ/, /ˈɪŋɡəlɪʃ/
  • (America) IPA: /ˈɪŋɡlɪʃ/, /ˈɪŋlɪʃ/
  • (AuE) IPA: /ˈɪŋɡləʃ/
Adjective

english

  1. Of or pertaining to England.
    • 1941, George Orwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, Pt. I:
      During the war of 1914–18 the English working class were in contact with foreigners to an extent that is rarely possible. The sole result was that they brought back a hatred of all Europeans, except the Germans, whose courage they admired.
  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).
    • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter II, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC ↗:
      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, so named for speaking English rather than a variety of German.
  6. (film, television) Denoting a vertical orientation of the barn doors.
    Coordinate term: Chinese
Synonyms Translations Translations Translations Translations Noun

english

  1. (in the plural) The people of England, Englishmen and Englishwomen.
    • 1979, Stormont Mancroft, 2nd Baron Mancroft, Bees in Some Bonnets, p. 175:
      Cricket—a game which the English, not being a spiritual people, have invented in order to give themselves some conception of eternity.
    The English and the ROTW have a long history of conflict, periodically interrupted for tea.
  2. (Amish, in the plural) The non-Amish, people outside the Amish faith and community.
  3. (uncountable) Facility with the English language, ability to employ English correctly and idiomatically.
    Sorry, my English isn't very good.
  4. (uncountable) A particular instance of the English language, including
    1. The English term or expression for some thing or idea.
      What's the English for 'à peu près'? It depends: how is it being used?
    2. The English text or phrasing of some spoken or written communication.
      The specs are all correct, but the English in the instructions isn't as clear as it should be.
    3. A clear and readily understandable expression of some idea in English.
      Thank you, doctor. Now, please say that again in English.
    4. Synonym of language arts, the class dedicated to improving primary and secondary school students' mastery of English and the material taught in such classes.
      I loved reading until 7th grade English.
  5. (printing, dated) A size of type between pica (12 point) and great primer (18 point), standardized as 14-point.
  6. (uncountable, North American) Alternative form of english.
    You are putting too much English on the ball.
Synonyms Translations Translations Translations Proper noun
  1. 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.
    Hyponyms: see Thesaurus:English language
    English is spoken here as an unofficial language and lingua franca.
    How do you say ‘à peu près’ in English?
  2. A variety, dialect, or idiolect of spoken and or written English.
  3. English language, literature, composition as a subject of study
  4. Surname originally denoting a non-Celtic or non-Danish person in Britain.
  5. A male given name
  6. A number of places in USA:
    1. A town/county seat in Crawford County, Indiana.
    2. An ucomm in Carroll County, Kentucky.
    3. An ucomm in Brazoria County, Texas.
    4. An ucomm in Red River County, Texas.
    5. An ucomm in McDowell County, West Virginia.
Translations Translations Verb

english (englishes, present participle englishing; simple past and past participle englished)

  1. (transitive, ;, archaic or rare) To translate, adapt or render into English.
    • 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC ↗:
      , 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.
    • 2011, Colin Cheney, 'Where Should I Start with Tomas Tranströmer?':
      Here, the poems are Englished by twelve different translators


This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.002
Offline English dictionary