Which word is correct: British or Britisher?

Question

Plz clarify.

Answer 1

BRITISHER-
In India, the term 'Britisher' may still be encountered, but is largely obsolete elsewhere. The word Angrez is of Arabic- or Persian-origin and is also sometimes used to refer to British people. It derives from the French Anglais. Amongst South Asians Angrez means Englishman and Angrezan English woman. This is mostly seen as an ethnic term (Specifically for people of Anglo-Saxons origin) so people living in England of South Asian origin would rarely refer to themselves as Angrez/Angrezan. Instead, particularly amongst Punjabis the term Englandi is used for themselves or any other non-ethnic english person of England. Replacing the z with j is common practice especially amongst people from the Punjab region, hence it would be Angrej(masculine) and Angrejan(female). Urdu speakers retain the z always.

BRITISH
There are many alternative ways to describe the people of the United Kingdom (UK), though the official designated nationality is British. The standard noun is Briton (see also demonym), but in colloquial usage this is often abbreviated informally to Brit. In practice, Britons are often referred to, according to their constituent nation, as English, Scottish, Welsh, or Northern Irish. Historically "British" implied a connection with the British Isles rather than with the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. Some other terms are humorous or derogatory slang, and used mainly by people from other countries, although they can be used in a self-deprecating way by British people themselves. Other terms are serious or tongue-in-cheek attempts to coin words as alternatives to the potentially ambiguous standard terms. British (English, Scottish and Welsh combined) people may consider some if not all irreverent terms to be offensive, or in some cases even racist.

Answer 2

British

Answer 3

British

Answer 4

British.

Answer 5

British of course

Answer 6

I saw the word "Britisher" appear in this subcontinent (India, Pakistan and Bangladesh - may be in Sri Lanka).

I was a bit puzzled when the airline B.O.A.C. became BA and then only "BRITISH". This is because I thought that the Scottish or people from Northern Ireland may not consider themselves to be "British". I am an ignorant in this subject. But with this Q&A about "British or Britisher" I can see that so many people are also not as clear on this matter as I thought them to be.

Now I want to share similar dilemma about my countrymen. Somebody from Pakistan wrote me ...your Bangladeshian embassy... and I told him that it is either "High Commission of Bangladesh" (embassy as called within Commonwealth of Nations) or "Embassy of Bangladesh".

We have also two thoughts as what to call somebody from Bangladesh. Some politicians would prefer "Bengali" which is a term confining us to a particular ethnic/race; where as with the officially recognized term of "Bangladeshi" it encompasses other ethnic and race of people living within the boundary of Bangladesh. Sorry for the digression, but see how people manipulate naming their nationality for selfish gain!

Answer 7

Oh my gosh! I was just asking my boyfriend the same thing yesterday! You call a person from Texas a Texan, a person from Moscow is a Muscovite , a person from New York is a New Yorker, but what about a person from Britain?? My boyfriend says: "a British person", but that's not the answer we want, is it?

I think that British is the adjective while Britisher (Brit for short) is the noun.

Answer 8

"British" is adjective *describing* a noun; one could not call someone "a British."

"Briton" would be the correct corresponding noun to "British," but both 'Briton,' 'Englander,' and 'Britisher' are a bit archaic to use in most modern society without sounding silly. 'Brit' is a slang term often used by other Brits.

It's probably safest to just use the nationality matching the exact country of the person to whom you refer: Englishman/woman, Scot, Welshman, Irishman, etc.

Answer 9

What context? A person: a Brit. A quality: British.

Answer 10

A British person is a Briton.

By the way, Zarla - a person from Moscow is a Muscovite.