Derivation of Great: Almagest Geography Alwion Iwernia

Derivation of
Great
A 1490 Italian reconstruction of the relevant map of Ptolemy who combined the lines of roads and of the
coasting expeditions during the first century of Roman occupation. Two great faults, however, are an eastward-
projecting Scotland and none of Ireland seen to be at the same latitude of Wales, which may have been if
Ptolemy used Pytheas' measurements of latitude. [29] Whether he did so is a much debated issue. This "copy"
appears in blue below.
The Greco-Egyptian scientist Ptolemy referred to the larger island as great Britain (μεγάλη

Βρεττανία megale Brettania) and to Ireland as little Britain (μικρὰ Βρεττανία mikra Brettania) in his
work Almagest (147–148 AD).[30] In his later work, Geography (c. 150 AD), he gave the islands the
names Alwion, Iwernia, and Mona (the Isle of Man),[31] suggesting these may have been the names
of the individual islands not known to him at the time of writing Almagest.[32] The
name Albion appears to have fallen out of use sometime after the Roman conquest of Britain, after
which Britain became the more commonplace name for the island. [18]
After the Anglo-Saxon period, Britain was used as a historical term only. Geoffrey of Monmouth in
his pseudohistorical Historia Regum Britanniae (c. 1136) refers to the island of Great Britain
as Britannia major ("Greater Britain"), to distinguish it from Britannia minor ("Lesser Britain"), the
continental region which approximates to modern Brittany, which had been settled in the fifth and
sixth centuries by Celtic Briton migrants from Great Britain.[citation needed]
The term Great Britain was first used officially in 1474, in the instrument drawing up the proposal for
a marriage between Cecily, daughter of Edward IV of England, and James, son of James III of
Scotland, which described it as "this Nobill Isle, callit Gret Britanee". While promoting a possible
royal match in 1548, Lord Protector Somerset said that the English and Scots were, "like as twoo
brethren of one Islande of great Britaynes again." In 1604, James VI and I styled himself "King of
Great Brittaine, France and Ireland".[33]
Modern use of the term Great Britain

Great Britain refers geographically to the island of Great Britain. Politically, it may refer to the whole
of England, Scotland and Wales, including their smaller offshore islands.[34] It is not technically
correct to use the term to refer to the whole of the United Kingdom which includes Northern Ireland,
though the Oxford English Dictionary states "...the term is also used loosely to refer to the United
Kingdom."[35][36]
Similarly, Britain can refer to either all islands in Great Britain, the largest island, or the political
grouping of countries.[37] There is no clear distinction, even in government documents: the UK
government yearbooks have used both Britain[38] and United Kingdom.[39]
GB and GBR are used instead of UK in some international codes to refer to the United Kingdom,
including the Universal Postal Union, international sports teams, NATO, and the International
Organization for Standardization country codes ISO 3166-2 and ISO 3166-1 alpha-3, whilst
the aircraft registration prefix is G.
On the Internet, .uk is the country code top-level domain for the United Kingdom. A .gb top-level
domain was used to a limited extent, but is now deprecated; although existing registrations still exist
(mainly by government organizations and email providers), the domain name registrar will not take
new registrations.
In the Olympics, Team GB is used by the British Olympic Association to represent the British
Olympic team. The Olympic Council of Ireland claims to represent the whole island of Ireland, and
Northern Irish sportspeople may choose to compete for either team, [40] most choosing to represent
Ireland.[41]
Political definition
Political definition of Great Britain (dark green)

– in Europe (green & dark grey)
– in the United Kingdom (green)
Politically, Great Britain refers to the whole of England, Scotland and Wales in combination,[42] but

not Northern Ireland; it includes islands, such as the Isle of Wight, Anglesey, the Isles of Scilly,
the Hebrides and the island groups of Orkney and Shetland, that are part of England, Wales, or
Scotland. It does not include the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.[42][43]
The political union that joined the kingdoms of England and Scotland happened in 1707 when
the Acts of Union ratified the 1706 Treaty of Union and merged the parliaments of the two nations,
forming the Kingdom of Great Britain, which covered the entire island. Before this, a personal union
had existed between these two countries since the 1603 Union of the Crowns under James VI of
Scotland and I of England.[citation needed]

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Derivation of

The Greco-Egyptian scientist Ptolemy referred to the larger island as great Britain (μεγάλη

Modern use of the term Great Britain

Political definition of Great Britain (dark green)

Politically, Great Britain refers to the whole of England, Scotland and Wales in combination,[42] but

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