Britayne
Middle English
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]- Britaine, Britane, Britaigne, Brittaigne, Briteyne, Brytayn
- Bretain, Bretaine, Bretaigne, Bretainne, Bretaygne, Breteigne, Breteine, Breteyn
- Brutaigne, Brutaine, Bruteine
- Breotene, Bretene (Early Middle English)
Etymology
[edit]From Anglo-Norman Britaine, Bretaine, Bretagne, variants of Old French Bretaigne, Bretannie via Medieval Latin Britānia, Bretannia from Latin Britannia; whence a doublet of Bretene via Old English Breoton, Breten.
Proper noun
[edit]Britayne
- Britain
- Synonym: Engelond
- 1387–1400, [Geoffrey] Chaucer, “The Ffrankeleẏns Tale”, in The Tales of Caunt́bury (Hengwrt Chaucer; Peniarth Manuscript 392D), Aberystwyth, Ceredigion: National Library of Wales, published [c. 1400–1410], →OCLC, folio 155, recto:
- A yeer and moore laſted this bliſful lyf, / Til that the knyght of which I ſpeke of thus, / That of Kayrrud was cleped Arveragus, / Shoop hym to goon and dwelle a yeer or twayne / In Engelond, that cleped was ek Britayne
- A year and more lasted this blissful life, / Until the knight of whom I thus speak, / That was called Arveragus of Kayrrud, / Prepared himself to go and dwell a year or two / In England, which was also called Britain
- 1461, John Wrexworth, Guyan King-of-Arms, Grant of Arms to William Swayne of Somerset (Add. MS. 14295, fo. 5b) :[1]
- The wch blason I the foresayd Gwyon Kinge of Armes witnesse: not then borne of any other ꝑson whatsoever he bee wthin the Realme of England (otherwyse called the Ile of Great Brittaigne)
- Brittany
- Synonym: Armorik
- 1386, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Franklin's Tale”, in Canterbury Tales, Oxford, published 1988, page 178:
- In Armorik, that called is Britayne, / Ther was a knyght that loved and dide his payne.
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Derived terms
[edit]Related terms
[edit]Descendants
[edit]- English: Britain
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- “Britaine, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
- Bretagne on the Anglo-Norman On-Line Hub
- ^ Willoughby Aston Littledale, editor (1926), A Collection of Miscellaneous Grants, Crests, Confirmations, Augmentations and Exemplifications of Arms in the Mss. Preserved in the British Museum, Ashmolean Library, Queen's College, Oxford, and Elsewhere[1], volume 77, London: J. Whitehead and Son, Ltd., →OCLC, page 192
Categories:
- Middle English terms borrowed from Anglo-Norman
- Middle English terms derived from Anglo-Norman
- Middle English terms derived from Old French
- Middle English terms derived from Medieval Latin
- Middle English terms derived from Latin
- Middle English doublets
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English proper nouns
- Middle English terms with quotations
- enm:England
- enm:Brittany