Definition of: English

(ing′glish) adjective
1. Of, pertaining to, or derived from England or its people.
2. Expressed in or belonging to the English language.
—noun
1. The people of England collectively: with the.
2. The Low German, West Germanic language spoken by the people of the British Isles and most of the British Commonwealth, and of the United States, its territories, and possessions.
—Old English or Anglo–Saxon, the English language from about A.D. 450 to A.D. 1150, consisting of the Kentish, West Saxon, Mercian, and Northumbrian dialects: represented by the epic poem Beowulf and the writings of Alfred the Great. The language in this period is synthetic in form and consists of an almost purely Germanic vocabulary. Abbr. OE
—Middle English, the language of England after the Norman Conquest, from about 1150 to 1500: represented by the works of Chaucer. The characteristics of this period are the gradual loss of inflections accompanied by a stabilizing of word order, extensive borrowings from Latin, French, and the Low German languages, and the rise of the East Midland dialect as the standard. Abbr. ME
—Modern English, the English language after 1500.
3. An English rendering or equivalent: “John” is the English of the French “Jean.”
4. The English pronunciation, style, syntax, vocabulary, etc., of a particular region, time, or person: Chaucerian English, American English.
5. Printing A size of type between pica and great primer: about 14 points; also, a type face resembling German text: more commonly called Old English.
6. In billiards, a horizontal twist or spin given to the cue ball by striking it on one side; by the British called side: also applied in other games to the spin given to a ball.
—king's English Spoken or written English considered as correct by official (or the king's) authority: also queen's English.
—plain English A direct simple statement: This is the plain English of it.
—v.t.
1. To translate into English.
2. To make English; Anglicize, as a foreign word.
3. In billiards and other games, to apply English to (a ball). [OE Englisc <Engle the Angles]