Breton
/ˈbrɛt(ə)n
/noun
1A native of Brittany.It is said the collection of pirates included Spaniards, French, Bretons and Irish....
- Many of the men in these advance parties were native Bretons familiar with the countryside and the people.
- In the years after the conquest, Normans, Flemings, Bretons, and other Frenchmen also took key posts.
2 [mass noun] The Celtic language of Brittany, derived from Cornish. It has around 500,000 speakers.Most Bretons speak both French and Breton, a Celtic language related to Welsh and Cornish....
- It refers to a radio station in Brittany, France, that broadcasts only in Breton.
- Largely the same can be said of another Celtic language, Breton.
adjective
1Relating to Brittany or its people or language.She is brought coral and pearls by a young lady whose dark skin distracts from her own Breton complexion....
- Jean-Claude, our Breton steward, is a former submariner, merchant seaman and hotelier.
- The band draws on Balkan repertoire but adds a few Breton tunes.
2Denoting a casual striped top, typically white with narrow horizontal blue stripes, of a type loosely associated with French or Breton sailors: just pull on a classic Breton t-shirt...
- I remember looking at Sophie's Breton top and her chic white pedal pushers and thinking: what a pretty girl.
- The stripy Breton top has become as ubiquitous as a Game of Thrones billboard this summer.
- In <i>And God Created Woman</i>, Bardot teamed a pair of red Repetto ballet pumps with cropped trousers and a Breton top.
Origin
From Old French, 'Briton'.