Glossary of 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, Irish 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".Limey
"Limey" is a predominantly North American slang nickname for a British person. The word has been around since the mid-19th century. Intended as a pejorative, the word is not commonly used today, though it retains that connotation.The term is thought to have originated in the 1850s as lime-juicer, later shortened to "limey", and was originally used as a derogatory word for sailors in the Royal Navy. It derives from 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, in order to prevent scurvy. Initially, lemon juice was used as the additive to grog on the Royal Navy ships, but that was later switched to limes, which were grown in British colonies. It was not understood that limes contain only one quarter as much vitamin C as lemons. Moreover, processing and storing the juice further reduced the amount of vitamin C present, and as a result, lime juice-based grog was not able to prevent scurvy.
In time, the term lost its naval connotation and was used to refer to British people in general and, in the 1880s, British immigrants in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. Although the term may have been used earlier in the US Navy as slang for a British sailor or a British warship, such a usage was not documented until 1918. By 1925, the usage of limey in American English had been extended to mean any British person, and the term was so commonly known that it was featured 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, with it appearing first in Western Australia, and was said to be short for pomegranate, with the terms "jimmy" and "jimmigrant" also in use. The term Ten-pound Pom refers to British migrants to Australia and New Zealand after World War II.Disputes about whether the term Pom is derogatory or offensive have occurred since 1925. 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.
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". 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, POME or POHMS. 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 in combating the Irish Republican Army. 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. 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" 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 Britti is colloquially most commonly used for a British person, often also referring interchangeably to a person from England.In Poland, a regular formal term to describe an English man is Anglik, in plural Anglicy, derived from the Polish word for England, Anglia, with the word Brytyjczyk meaning a British from the Polish name for Britain. Polish people often use terms Anglik and Anglia to talk about the whole UK, including Scotland, Wales etc. Derogatory or disdainful terms coined in recent years are Angol and Brytol however, due to negative connotations they are not used in formal writing or by the media or are used in social media and various alternative sources with varied connotations.
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 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 and very uncommon. Great Britain is called Nagy-Britannia but the United Kingdom is called Egyesült Királyság.
''Inselaffe'' / ''Insel-Affe''
Inselaffe 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 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 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 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.Africa
speakers may use the term rooinek 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 now largely archaic term used by Afrikaners to describe South Africans of British descent 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.
In Somalia and Somaliland, the English are commonly referred to as Gaal Cad . During the 19th and 20th century British colonial campaign of Somaliland, members of the Dervishes coined this term as a descriptive term towards the British who they considered to be their enemy. There are many lines of poetry recited by renowned Somali poets from that era in which they use that term to refer to the British. It is often still used today to describe any non-Muslim European in general.
Latin America
use the Spanish term pirata to pejoratively refer to the British, in reference to the longstanding Falklands dispute.Middle East
During the British Mandate in Palestine, British troops of the 6th Airborne Division were often referred to as כלניות or Kalaniot, being Hebrew for Anemones, reflecting their red berets.In Iraq, British occupying forces post WWI were known as “Abu Naji”