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English definition

Eng·lish (glis̸h; alsolis̸h)

adjective

  1. of England or its people or culture
  2. of the language of England and the U.S.

Etymology: ME < OE Englisc, lit., of the Angles: see Angle & -ish

noun

  1. the West Germanic language spoken by the people of England and the U.S., and in the Commonwealth, Liberia, etc.
  2. the English language of a specific period or place
  3. a characteristic way of using this language broken English
  4. the equivalent in the English language; English translation
  5. a school course or class in the English language or its literature
  6. Billiards, Bowling, etc. a spinning motion given to a ball, as by striking it on one side
  7. Archaic a size of printing type, 14 point

transitive verb

  1. to translate into English
  2. to apply the principles of English pronunciation, spelling, etc. to; Anglicize (a foreign word)
  3. Billiards, Bowling, etc. to give English to (a ball)
English Idioms

the English

the people of England

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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