Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A female personification of Great Britain or the British Empire.
  • noun Britannia metal.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Same as Britannia metal (which see, under metal).

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A white-metal alloy of tin, antimony, bismuth, copper, etc. It somewhat resembles silver, and is used for table ware. Called also Britannia metal.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun a female personification of Britain

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin, Britain, from Britannī, the Britons.]

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Examples

  • The pairing seems irresistible: an inscrutable but undeniably beautiful meditation on Englishness inspired by the man who coined the term "Britannia" and written by a musician who made it cool.

    Dr Dee, Palace Theatre, Manchester | First night review 2011

  • The pairing seems irresistible: an inscrutable but undeniably beautiful meditation on Englishness inspired by the man who coined the term "Britannia" and written by a musician who made it cool.

    Dr Dee, Palace Theatre, Manchester | First night review 2011

  • Here they started to build a town which they called Britannia, and they made friends with the Maoris of the district.

    History of Australia and New Zealand From 1606 to 1890 George Sutherland 1880

  • He agreed with his friends on this point, that the stranger must be either English or American, the name Britannia leading them to suppose this, and, besides, through the bushy beard, and under the shaggy, matted hair, the engineer thought he could recognize the characteristic features of the Anglo-Saxon.

    The Mysterious Island 2005

  • He agreed with his friends on this point, that the stranger must be either English or American, the name Britannia leading them to suppose this, and, besides, through the bushy beard, and under the shaggy, matted hair, the engineer thought he could recognize the characteristic features of the Anglo-Saxon.

    The Mysterious Island 2005

  • Neustria, together with the fact that the name Britannia, or Brittany, as applied to that particular province in Gaul was forgotten for centuries before any of the old Latin "Lives" of St. Patrick, except the first, were written, must have induced some old biographers of the

    Bolougne-Sur-Mer St. Patrick's Native Town William Fleming

  • The word Britannia occurs three times in the "Confession."

    Bolougne-Sur-Mer St. Patrick's Native Town William Fleming

  • The Buffalo paper said that Canada did not know enough to come out of the Rain Britannia, and the Hamilton paper said she knew enough at least to keep out of the Hail Columbia!

    Empire Conditions and Problems 1906

  • Articles made of what is usually called Britannia metal may be kept in order by the frequent use of the following composition: 1/2 a lb. of finely-powdered whiting, a wineglass of sweet oil, a tablespoonful of soft soap, and 1/2 an oz. of yellow soap melted in water.

    Practical Suggestions for Mother and Housewife Marion Mills Miller 1906

  • Long before that, Bennet Frothingham had been known in the money-market; it was the 'Britannia' -- Loan,

    The Whirlpool George Gissing 1880

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