Briticism

[ brit-uh-siz-uhm ]

noun

1. a word, idiom, or phrase characteristic of or restricted to British English, especially as compared with American English, as lift compared with elevator or in hospital with in the hospital.

Briticism

/ ˈbrɪtɪˌsɪzəm /

noun

1. a custom, linguistic usage, or other feature peculiar to Britain or its people

Word History and Origins

Origin of Briticism¹

1865–70, Americanism; British + -ism, with -ic for -ish on the model of Gallicism, etc.

Example Sentences

She says this as a matter of consensus, though to gaze at Wright, looking glam in borrowed clothes from Zero + Maria Cornejo, is to consider the observation — to borrow a Briticism — rubbish.

From Washington Post

And although a negative is always difficult of proof, this same New English Dictionary gives evidence in behalf of the late Mr. White's contention that Britisher is not an Americanism, but a Briticism; he said that the word was never heard in the mouth of an American, and, as it happens, Dr. Murray is not able to adduce in its behalf a single quotation from any American author.

From Project Gutenberg

Another more recent Briticism is the growing habit of dropping the article, and saying that "ministers are," meaning thereby that the cabinet as a whole is about to take action.

From Project Gutenberg

It is an Americanism to call him clever whom we deem good-natured only; and it is a Briticism to call that entertainment smart which we consider very fashionable; and of the two the Briticism seems the more natural outgrowth.

From Project Gutenberg

A blunder made in Great Britain is to be stigmatized as a Briticism, and it is to be avoided by those who take thought of their speech just as though the impropriety were a Scotticism or a Hibernicism, an Americanism or an Australianism.

From Project Gutenberg