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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

English.

Of or pertaining to England.

7 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/ˈɪŋ.(ɡ)lɪʃ/Received-Pronunciation/ˈɪŋ.ɡə.lɪʃ/Received-Pronunciation, nonstandard/ˈɪŋ.(ɡ)lɪʃ/General-American/ˈiŋ.(ɡ)lɪʃ/
  1. Of or pertaining to England.

  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 (e.g. Englishmen and Englishwomen).

  4. Of or pertaining to the avoirdupois system of measure.

    an English ton
  5. Non-Amish, so named for speaking English rather than a variety of German.

  6. Denoting a vertical orientation of the barn doors on a camera.

Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-West Germanic *Angli Old English Engle Proto-Indo-European *-iskos Proto-Germanic *-iskaz Proto-West Germanic *-isk Old English -isċ Old English Englisċ Middle English Englisch English English From Middle English Englisch, English, Inglis, from Old English Englisċ (“of the Angles; English”), from Engle (“the Angles”), a Germanic tribe + -isċ; equivalent to Engle + -ish. Doublet of Anglish. Compare West Frisian Ingelsk, Scots Inglis (older ynglis), Dutch Engels, Danish engelsk, Old French Englesche (whence French anglais), German englisch, Spanish inglés, all ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂enǵʰ- (“narrow”) (compare Sanskrit अंहु (áṃhu, “narrow”), अंहस् (áṃhas, “anxiety, sin”), Latin angustus (“narrow”), Old Church Slavonic ѫзъкъ (ǫzŭkŭ, “narrow”)). More at Angles (tribe) § Etymology on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

noun/ˈɪŋ.(ɡ)lɪʃ/Received-Pronunciation/ˈɪŋ.ɡə.lɪʃ/Received-Pronunciation, nonstandard/ˈɪŋ.(ɡ)lɪʃ/General-American/ˈiŋ.(ɡ)lɪʃ/
  1. The people of England, e.g., Englishmen and Englishwomen.

    countable · in-plural · uncountable
    The English and the ROTW have a long history of conflict, periodically interrupted for tea.
  2. The non-Amish, people outside the Amish faith and community.

    countable · in-plural · uncountable
  3. Facility with the English language, ability to employ English correctly and idiomatically.

    uncountable
    Sorry, my English isn't very good. I wish I had better English.
  4. A particular instance of the English language, including: The English term or expression for some thing or idea.

    countable · uncountable
    What's the English for 'à peu près'? It depends: how is it being used?
  5. A particular instance of the English language, including: The English text or phrasing of some spoken or written communication.

    countable · uncountable
    The specs are all correct, but the English in the instructions isn't as clear as it should be.
  6. A particular instance of the English language, including: A clear and readily understandable expression of some idea in English.

    countable · uncountable
    Thank you, doctor. Now, please say that again in English.
  7. A particular instance of the English language, including: Synonym of language arts, the class dedicated to improving primary and secondary school students' mastery of English and the material taught in such classes.

    countable · uncountable
    I loved reading until 7th grade English.
  8. A size of type between pica (12 point) and great primer (18 point), standardized as 14-point.

    countable · dated · uncountable
  9. Alternative form of english.

    Canada · US · alt-of · alternative · uncountable
    You are putting too much English on the ball.
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-West Germanic *Angli Old English Engle Proto-Indo-European *-iskos Proto-Germanic *-iskaz Proto-West Germanic *-isk Old English -isċ Old English Englisċ Middle English Englisch English English From Middle English Englisch, English, Inglis, from Old English Englisċ (“of the Angles; English”), from Engle (“the Angles”), a Germanic tribe + -isċ; equivalent to Engle + -ish. Doublet of Anglish. Compare West Frisian Ingelsk, Scots Inglis (older ynglis), Dutch Engels, Danish engelsk, Old French Englesche (whence French anglais), German englisch, Spanish inglés, all ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂enǵʰ- (“narrow”) (compare Sanskrit अंहु (áṃhu, “narrow”), अंहस् (áṃhas, “anxiety, sin”), Latin angustus (“narrow”), Old Church Slavonic ѫзъкъ (ǫzŭkŭ, “narrow”)). More at Angles (tribe) § Etymology on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

name/ˈɪŋ.(ɡ)lɪʃ/Received-Pronunciation/ˈɪŋ.ɡə.lɪʃ/Received-Pronunciation, nonstandard/ˈɪŋ.(ɡ)lɪʃ/General-American/ˈiŋ.(ɡ)lɪʃ/
  1. The language that developed in England and is now spoken in the British Isles, the Commonwealth of Nations, North America, and many other parts of the world.

    countable · uncountable
    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.

    countable · uncountable
  3. English language, literature, composition as a subject of study

    countable · uncountable
  4. An English surname originally denoting a non-Celtic or non-Danish person in Britain.

    countable · uncountable
  5. A male or female given name.

    countable · uncountable
  6. A number of places in the United States: A town, the county seat of Crawford County, Indiana; named for Indiana statesman William Hayden English.

    countable · uncountable
  7. A number of places in the United States: An unincorporated community in Carroll County, Kentucky.

    countable · uncountable
  8. A number of places in the United States: An unincorporated community in Brazoria County, Texas.

    countable · uncountable
  9. A number of places in the United States: An unincorporated community in Red River County, Texas.

    countable · uncountable
  10. A number of places in the United States: An unincorporated community in McDowell County, West Virginia.

    countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-West Germanic *Angli Old English Engle Proto-Indo-European *-iskos Proto-Germanic *-iskaz Proto-West Germanic *-isk Old English -isċ Old English Englisċ Middle English Englisch English English From Middle English Englisch, English, Inglis, from Old English Englisċ (“of the Angles; English”), from Engle (“the Angles”), a Germanic tribe + -isċ; equivalent to Engle + -ish. Doublet of Anglish. Compare West Frisian Ingelsk, Scots Inglis (older ynglis), Dutch Engels, Danish engelsk, Old French Englesche (whence French anglais), German englisch, Spanish inglés, all ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂enǵʰ- (“narrow”) (compare Sanskrit अंहु (áṃhu, “narrow”), अंहस् (áṃhas, “anxiety, sin”), Latin angustus (“narrow”), Old Church Slavonic ѫзъкъ (ǫzŭkŭ, “narrow”)). More at Angles (tribe) § Etymology on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

verb/ˈɪŋ.(ɡ)lɪʃ/Received-Pronunciation/ˈɪŋ.ɡə.lɪʃ/Received-Pronunciation, nonstandard/ˈɪŋ.(ɡ)lɪʃ/General-American/ˈiŋ.(ɡ)lɪʃ/
  1. To translate, adapt or render into English.

    archaic · rare · transitive
  2. To make English; to claim for England.

    archaic · rare · transitive
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-West Germanic *Angli Old English Engle Proto-Indo-European *-iskos Proto-Germanic *-iskaz Proto-West Germanic *-isk Old English -isċ Old English Englisċ Middle English Englisch English English From Middle English Englisch, English, Inglis, from Old English Englisċ (“of the Angles; English”), from Engle (“the Angles”), a Germanic tribe + -isċ; equivalent to Engle + -ish. Doublet of Anglish. Compare West Frisian Ingelsk, Scots Inglis (older ynglis), Dutch Engels, Danish engelsk, Old French Englesche (whence French anglais), German englisch, Spanish inglés, all ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂enǵʰ- (“narrow”) (compare Sanskrit अंहु (áṃhu, “narrow”), अंहस् (áṃhas, “anxiety, sin”), Latin angustus (“narrow”), Old Church Slavonic ѫзъкъ (ǫzŭkŭ, “narrow”)). More at Angles (tribe) § Etymology on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.