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GREAT BRITAIN
This is the name of the island which is made up of England, Scotland and Wales and so, strictly
speaking, it does not include Northern Ireland. The origin of the word 'Great' is a reference to size,
because in many European languages the words for Britain and Brittany in France are the same. In
fact, it was the French who first talked about Grande Bretagne! In everyday speech 'Britain' is used to
mean the United Kingdom.