Veľká Británia môže byť aj bývalé (do roku 2000 platné) oficiálne slovenské krátke označenie pre Spojené kráľovstvo Veľkej Británie a Severného Írska, dnes správne Spojené kráľovstvo
staroveký názov Britských ostrovov u niektorých autorov (napríklad u Klaudia Ptolemia; u iných autorov sa nazývali Británie – Britanniae), lat. Britannia, pozri Britské ostrovy
rímska provincia na ostrove Veľká Británia, lat. Britannia, pozri Británia (provincia)
Poznámka
Takto komentuje používanie výrazov Británia a Veľká Británia v angličtine Oxford English Dictionary:[2]
...From the Old English period onwards the name Britain has been used to denote the geographical area comprising England, Wales, and Scotland, with their dependencies (more fully called Great Britain : see below), and in more recent times also used for the British state or empire as a whole. After the Old English period, Britain was used only as a historical term, until the early to mid 16th cent., when it came again into practical politics in connection with the efforts made to unite England and Scotland (...). After the Act of Union of 1707, South Britain and North Britain are frequent in Acts of Parliament for England and Scotland respectively (...): the latter also occurs occas. in later (chiefly postal) use...
The fuller name Great Britain has been in use since the Middle English period, originally to distinguish the island from Brittany, which was then also called Britain (...). Compare also "the more Britain" (1582 or earlier)... The name gained a political aspect in connection with the union between Scotland and England: in 1604 James I was proclaimed ‘King of Great Britain’, and this name was subsequently adopted as the official name of the new kingdom created in the Act of Union (...1707). Under the Act of Union of 1800 Great Britain became part of the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland"...
The name Britain was also used from early Middle English onwards to denote the duchy of Brittany in France, in later use usually distinguished as "Little Britain", "Britain the less" , "the less Britain" , etc. (...), and now only in historical use...
[Britain] In pl. [i.e. in the form Britains] [means] Great Britain and its dominions and dependencies, the British Empire...
Referencie
↑Británie in: Havránek, B. et al.: Slovník spisovného jazyka českého.
