Briticisms

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Terms and expressions characteristic of British English speech or writing; linguistic features, spellings, or idioms distinctively used in Britain; aspects of language that mark something as belonging to British culture or usage
2. Words, phrases, or usages particular to the variety of English spoken in the United Kingdom; idiomatic or spelling forms that differ from other English dialects; language elements that identify communication as British in origin or style
3. Distinctive elements of English that are predominantly or exclusively found in Britain, including unique vocabulary, spelling conventions, and syntactical patterns; idioms and expressions associated with British culture or geographical region; language features marking British identity in speech and text

Etymology: "Briticisms" is the plural of "Briticism", and the word is built from a familiar pattern. The first part, "Brit-", is a shortened form of "British", while "-icism" is the suffix found in older coinages like "Scotticism" and "Anglicism", which name expressions characteristic of a particular country or people. The word thus follows the same model as those, marking out English usage that is peculiarly British. Its older rival was "Britishism", and the shorter form appeared later, as clipped forms often do. Because the suffix is so regular, the word was easy to coin and needed little explanation to be understood by speakers already familiar with "Scotticism" and "Anglicism".

Synonyms: briticisms