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The article makes no mention that the majority of Britains live under the impression that the 'great' refers to UK's past imperial power, rather than simply indicating the largest of the British islands. This is no trivial point, as the concept of 'Great Britain' is fundamental to many citizens concept of the nation and its international role. Stub Mandrel ( talk) 07:06, 5 September 2021 (UTC)
If "Great" refers to the size and not the colonial "glory" of the past why is the UK called the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland indicating a union of two countries on my passport? e.g Great Britain created in 1707 by the Act of Union and many years later adding Northern Irland. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A02:C7F:8D21:7600:8C6E:2E8D:E38B:7DEB ( talk) 20:47, 3 October 2021 (UTC)
I feel I should add for clarity, if you read the Act of Union article on wiki it says the Act of Union joined the countries of Scotland and England together to create Great Britain, this is specifically stated as an important piece of information in the Act at least according to the wiki page. The Act of Union therefore is in itself referring to Great Britain as a country! This in turn means British Isles is far more accurate when referring to the island or islands. Use of Great Britain will indicate a country to many although I fully understand that this is contentious as well as it can indicate to some that England and Scotland therefore are not countries, which I disagree with but it is why I use Scotland and England or UK in conversation rather than Great Britain which is mildly controversial. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A02:C7F:8D21:7600:8C6E:2E8D:E38B:7DEB ( talk) 21:18, 3 October 2021 (UTC)
Perhaps this is also a good example of how a country can be considered "great" (or, in this case, "Great") without emphasizing that the term was assumed in connection with its history of invasion, oppression, and general fancy for world domination. Although a mere Canadian, I'm reasonably well-read, and until now thought "Great" referred to GB's regional inclusiveness—and, knowing what a fascinating part of the world it was geographically and culturally, that the other meaning of "great" was a happy coincidence.
Why not let others have this idea? Why dwell on its former policy of assimilation, "master race" mentality, and so on? Let bygones be bygones, I say, and let the language relax into its more benign, less grasping implications (although of course there are those in Ireland who would disagree with even that). It is, after all, the English language, and there are many ways to be "great".
And now for our concluding remarks—and a conveniently similar semantic example—I turn you over to the great
John Cleese.–
AndyFielding (
talk)
01:36, 7 June 2022 (UTC)
This article is wrong and not even consistent within itself. "Britain" is the name of the island - the largest island of the archipelago. "Great Britain" refers to the territory ruled by the Kingdom of Great Britain - namely the island of Britain plus the other neighbouring islands that made up the Kingdom. The larger grouping of islands is referred to as "Great Britain" using "Great" as in "larger". The article isn't even consistent within itself, The third paragraph of the intro contradicts the first paragraph of the intro. Throughout the article the use of "Great Britain" and "Britain" is poorly and inconsistently applied. Its a mess Marlarkey ( talk) 20:12, 16 September 2022 (UTC)
The United Kingdom of Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Wight". Obvious really. Roger 8 Roger ( talk) 21:15, 22 September 2022 (UTC)
"Great Britain" is the name of the largest island of the British Isles, but it is sometimes shortened to "Britain" for convenience, like the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" is often shortened to simply the "United Kingdom". Rreagan007 ( talk) 01:50, 17 January 2023 (UTC)
This article is an example of how the internet creates a falsehood, that becomes self-referentially cited as evidence that the falsehood is true, and thus accepted as fact when it is false. Marlarkey ( talk) 12:19, 16 February 2023 (UTC)
island lying off the western coast of Europe and consisting of England, Scotland, and Wales. The term is often used as a synonym for the United Kingdom, which also includes Northern Ireland and a number of offshore islands.
Great Britain, therefore, is a geographic term referring to the island also known simply as Britain. It’s also a political term for the part of the United Kingdom made up of England, Scotland, and Wales (including the outlying islands that they administer, such as the Isle of Wight).
the largest island in the British Isles.
In strict geographic terms, Great Britain (also known as “Britain”) is an island tucked between the North Sea and the English Channel, which at its narrowest point is about 20 miles away from the European continent. Great Britain is part of the British Isles, a collection of more than 6,000 islands including Ireland in the west and smaller islands like Anglesey and Skye.
the largest of the islands in the British Isles.
the official collective name of of England, Scotland and Wales and their associated islands. It does not include Northern Ireland and therefore should never be used interchangeably with ‘UK’ – something you see all too often.
I am trying to do research on the history of Great Britain, and I find it very hard to find out information on the late 1800s and early 1900s 216.251.143.50 ( talk) 21:37, 1 June 2023 (UTC)
This article refers to Great Britain as an island.
The Ordnance Survey ( https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/blog/whats-the-difference-between-uk-britain-and-british-isles) says "Great Britain is the official collective name of of England, Scotland and Wales and their associated islands.".
While researching, I was misled by this Wikipedia article into believing that Great Britain does not include the associated islands. JonBib ( talk) 12:53, 21 November 2023 (UTC)
![]() | This is an archive of past discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page. |
Archive 1 | Archive 2 | Archive 3 | Archive 4 |
The article makes no mention that the majority of Britains live under the impression that the 'great' refers to UK's past imperial power, rather than simply indicating the largest of the British islands. This is no trivial point, as the concept of 'Great Britain' is fundamental to many citizens concept of the nation and its international role. Stub Mandrel ( talk) 07:06, 5 September 2021 (UTC)
If "Great" refers to the size and not the colonial "glory" of the past why is the UK called the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland indicating a union of two countries on my passport? e.g Great Britain created in 1707 by the Act of Union and many years later adding Northern Irland. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A02:C7F:8D21:7600:8C6E:2E8D:E38B:7DEB ( talk) 20:47, 3 October 2021 (UTC)
I feel I should add for clarity, if you read the Act of Union article on wiki it says the Act of Union joined the countries of Scotland and England together to create Great Britain, this is specifically stated as an important piece of information in the Act at least according to the wiki page. The Act of Union therefore is in itself referring to Great Britain as a country! This in turn means British Isles is far more accurate when referring to the island or islands. Use of Great Britain will indicate a country to many although I fully understand that this is contentious as well as it can indicate to some that England and Scotland therefore are not countries, which I disagree with but it is why I use Scotland and England or UK in conversation rather than Great Britain which is mildly controversial. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A02:C7F:8D21:7600:8C6E:2E8D:E38B:7DEB ( talk) 21:18, 3 October 2021 (UTC)
Perhaps this is also a good example of how a country can be considered "great" (or, in this case, "Great") without emphasizing that the term was assumed in connection with its history of invasion, oppression, and general fancy for world domination. Although a mere Canadian, I'm reasonably well-read, and until now thought "Great" referred to GB's regional inclusiveness—and, knowing what a fascinating part of the world it was geographically and culturally, that the other meaning of "great" was a happy coincidence.
Why not let others have this idea? Why dwell on its former policy of assimilation, "master race" mentality, and so on? Let bygones be bygones, I say, and let the language relax into its more benign, less grasping implications (although of course there are those in Ireland who would disagree with even that). It is, after all, the English language, and there are many ways to be "great".
And now for our concluding remarks—and a conveniently similar semantic example—I turn you over to the great
John Cleese.–
AndyFielding (
talk)
01:36, 7 June 2022 (UTC)
This article is wrong and not even consistent within itself. "Britain" is the name of the island - the largest island of the archipelago. "Great Britain" refers to the territory ruled by the Kingdom of Great Britain - namely the island of Britain plus the other neighbouring islands that made up the Kingdom. The larger grouping of islands is referred to as "Great Britain" using "Great" as in "larger". The article isn't even consistent within itself, The third paragraph of the intro contradicts the first paragraph of the intro. Throughout the article the use of "Great Britain" and "Britain" is poorly and inconsistently applied. Its a mess Marlarkey ( talk) 20:12, 16 September 2022 (UTC)
The United Kingdom of Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Wight". Obvious really. Roger 8 Roger ( talk) 21:15, 22 September 2022 (UTC)
"Great Britain" is the name of the largest island of the British Isles, but it is sometimes shortened to "Britain" for convenience, like the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" is often shortened to simply the "United Kingdom". Rreagan007 ( talk) 01:50, 17 January 2023 (UTC)
This article is an example of how the internet creates a falsehood, that becomes self-referentially cited as evidence that the falsehood is true, and thus accepted as fact when it is false. Marlarkey ( talk) 12:19, 16 February 2023 (UTC)
island lying off the western coast of Europe and consisting of England, Scotland, and Wales. The term is often used as a synonym for the United Kingdom, which also includes Northern Ireland and a number of offshore islands.
Great Britain, therefore, is a geographic term referring to the island also known simply as Britain. It’s also a political term for the part of the United Kingdom made up of England, Scotland, and Wales (including the outlying islands that they administer, such as the Isle of Wight).
the largest island in the British Isles.
In strict geographic terms, Great Britain (also known as “Britain”) is an island tucked between the North Sea and the English Channel, which at its narrowest point is about 20 miles away from the European continent. Great Britain is part of the British Isles, a collection of more than 6,000 islands including Ireland in the west and smaller islands like Anglesey and Skye.
the largest of the islands in the British Isles.
the official collective name of of England, Scotland and Wales and their associated islands. It does not include Northern Ireland and therefore should never be used interchangeably with ‘UK’ – something you see all too often.
I am trying to do research on the history of Great Britain, and I find it very hard to find out information on the late 1800s and early 1900s 216.251.143.50 ( talk) 21:37, 1 June 2023 (UTC)
This article refers to Great Britain as an island.
The Ordnance Survey ( https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/blog/whats-the-difference-between-uk-britain-and-british-isles) says "Great Britain is the official collective name of of England, Scotland and Wales and their associated islands.".
While researching, I was misled by this Wikipedia article into believing that Great Britain does not include the associated islands. JonBib ( talk) 12:53, 21 November 2023 (UTC)