1906. 
135 
NOTES. 
The Use of the Word British." 
The proposal to restrict the use of the word " British " to Great Britain, 
conveuient as it might be, does not appear to me to be possible, even if 
it were advisable. The word has been used too long in the wider as well 
as in the restricted sense to make this possible. The course of words, 
like that of streams, cannot be diverted at will and confined to certain 
channels. 
There might be more chance of success if it were decided to use 
" Britannic " in the restricted sense, since it is not such a common word 
as the other; but I am doubtful if even this change could be effected in 
popular usage. 
I can offer no other solution of the difficulty unless some other new 
word could be found which would not be ambiguous. 
C. H. Wadde)!,!,. 
Saintfield. 
In thanking Mr. Waddell for his courteous comments, I should like to 
point out that my proposal for limiting the meaning of the word " British" 
refers to its use in a definite geographical sense by nattiralists. And this 
restriction of meaning is all the more possible because it is (as I have 
shown) often adopted in popular speech and writing. An exact scientific 
nomenclature depends very largely on such a voluntary restriction of the 
meaning of words. For example, the words "fish" and "'Ethiopian" 
convey to the naturalist clear and definite meanings, although in com- 
mon speech they are used widely and loosely. 
G. H. Carpenter. 
Dublin. 
I have been much interested in the discussion in the Irish Naturalist 
as to the use of the word British." As an Englishman abroad. 1 have 
often needed a word to distinguish between a person from Great Britain 
and one from the British Isles. In the United States the term "bloom- 
ing Britisher" is usually employed to imply anyone from the British 
Isles, but clearly the word "Britisher" is ambiguous. Unfortunately 
Professor Carpenter's word "Britannic" does not lend itself for use in 
the case of persons. A great service would be done to residents abroad 
if two distinctive terms could be suggested applicable to persons. 
J. E. DUERPEN, 
University College, 
Grahamstown, South Africa. 
