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Britannia|brɪˈtænɪə|
[L. Britannia, anciently Brittannia, Brittānia (which was Bæda's spelling), corresp. to Gr. βρεττανία (Diod. Sic.), f. Brittanni or Brittāni = Gr. βρεττανοί: see Britain a.]
1. The Latin name of Britain; a poetic name for Britain personified as a female; the female figure on coins, etc., emblematic of Britain.
c893K. ælfred Oros. i. i. §11 Þæt lond þe mon bryttania [later MS. bryttannia] hætt. Ibid. 28 Brittannia þæt iᵹland..On brettannia. [1586Camden (title) Britannia, seu florentissimorum regnorum Angliæ, Scotiæ, Hiberniæ..descriptio. 1637― Britannia, transl. newly into English by P. Holland.] 1666–7Pepys Diary 25 Feb., The King's new medall, where, in little, there is Mrs. Stewart's face..and a pretty thing it is, that he should choose her face to represent Britannia by. 1716Lond. Gaz. No. 5404/3 The Figure of a Woman, commonly called Brittannia. 1740Thomson Song, ‘Rule Britannia’. 1762–9Falconer Shipwr. i. 3 Of famed Britannia were the gallant crew. 1798Nelson in Duncan Life (1806) 101 Britannia still rules the waves. 1818Byron Juan i. iv, Nelson was once Britannia's god of war. 1864N. & Q. Ser. iii. V. 37/1 The earliest coin..with the figure of Britannia is a copper half penny of 1672.
†2. Comm. = Britannia Linen: see 3. Obs.
1676W. Dampier Voy. II. ii. 110 Broad-cloth, Serges..Britannias, Hollandilloes, Iron-work, etc.
3. a. attrib. in commercial terms; esp. Britannia-metal, an alloy of tin and regulus of antimony, resembling silver in appearance.
1706Lond. Gaz. No. 4189/4 Coarse unwatered Camblets..Britannia Linen..broad Germany Linen. 1817Brownell's Sheffield Directory 73 Britannia Metal Manufacturers. [In earlier directories called ‘White Metal’.] 1849Dickens Dav. Copp. 586 Of course we have something in the shape of spoons..but they are Britannia metal. 1882Pall Mall G. 30 June 1/1 Prince Bismarck's oft-quoted..saying, that ‘Speech was silvern and silence golden; but that first to speak and then to run away was Britannia metal’.
b. ellipt. = Britannia metal, or an article made of this. Also attrib., made of Britannia metal.
1814W. Bentley Diary Feb. (1914) IV. 237 He had begun the work of the Britania Ware. 1840Picayune (New Orleans) 28 July 1 Britannia Table and Tea Spoons. 1852A. Cary Clovernook 91 The cupboard.., where the china and britannia were wisely set for show. 1887M. E. Wilkins Humble Romance 107 Pouring the tea from the shiny britannia teapot into the best pink china cups. 1970Globe & Mail (Toronto) 28 Sept. 26/6 What is Britannia ware? It is a very fine type of pewter made by a spinning process instead of being cast.
Hence Briˈtannian a. = British.
1589Gold. Mirr. (1851) 14 Wicked weesels, fled from Britanian grounds. 1613Purchas Pilgr. viii. v. 760 Our Britannian hopes, Prince Henrie and Duke Charles. a1840E. Elliott Withered W. Flowers I. Our Britannian shore. |