Etymology and terminology of UK

Etymology and terminology

See also: Britain (place name) and Terminology of the British Isles
The 1707 Acts of Union declared that the kingdoms of England and Scotland were “United into One Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain”.[37][38][note 13] The term “United Kingdom” has occasionally been used as a description for the former kingdom of Great Britain, although its official name from 1707

to 1800 was simply “Great Britain”.[39][40][41][42] The Acts of Union 1800 united the kingdom of Great Britain and the kingdom of Ireland in 1801, forming the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Following the partition of Ireland and the independence of the Irish Free State in 1922, which left Northern Ireland as the only part of the island of Ireland within the United Kingdom, the name was changed to the “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”.[43]

Although the United Kingdom is a sovereign country, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are also widely referred to as countries.[44][45] The UK Prime Minister’s website has used the phrase “countries within a country” to describe the United Kingdom.[21] S

ome statistical summaries, such as those for the twelve NUTS 1 regions of the United Kingdom refer to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as “regions”.[46][47] Northern Ireland is also referred to as a “province”.[48][49] With regard to Northern Ireland, the descriptive name used “can be controversial, with the choice often revealing one’s political preferences”.[50]