'''British''' is the adjective that refers to Britain—historically to [[Great Britain]] and today to the [[United Kingdom]].
The "British people" (usually '''Britons''' or, informally, '''Brits''') are the subjects<ref>The term "citizen" is increasingly used for the more technically correct "subject."</ref> of the [[United Kingdom]]. They usually call themselves ''[[English]]'', ''[[Scottish]]'', ''[[Welsh]]'' or ''Northern Irish''/''[[Irish]]'' referring to which constituent country of the UK they self-identify with. In [[Northern Ireland]] "British" is usually associated with the [[Unionist]] community, with [[nationalists]] and republicans generally regarding themselves as exclusively ''Irish''.
Until the 1960s the word "English" was commonly used instead of "British." This annoyed the Scots and Irish so much that "English" is today more narrowly confined to the language and to the country of England (which comprises most of the British population).