Englishry

/ˈɪŋɡlɪʃri/ noun

Definition

English people collectively; the quality or condition of being English; sometimes used to denote English settlers or colonists in another land.

Etymology

From English + -ry (Old English -rice, meaning 'realm' or 'rule,' also used to create collective nouns like 'archery,' 'gentry,' 'clergy'). This is a very old suffix rarely used in new words today.

Kelly Says

The -ry suffix is nearly extinct in modern English, but 'englishry' survives in historical texts to describe English colonial populations—it's a ghostword from an older naming system when we made collective nouns this way constantly.

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