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Blighty

Blighty

1 9.9
A name for Britain or the United Kingdom used informally by British people abroad, especially during war
  • noun
  • /ˈblaɪti/
  • Archaic
translation icon : Blighty
  • Back to Blighty.
  • old Blighty

Examples

  • Back in Blighty, I knew several people who didn't give to charity on principle because they felt it was something the government ought to be doing.

    Blog text (6)
  • He'd have to make a few speeches, encouraging recruitment in industrial areas, but he'd be kept at home in Blighty for the duration.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • You just jump on a plane and fly back to Blighty.

  • Are you back in Blighty?

  • It's back to blighty now, lads!

  • We're back over Blighty, chaps.

  • Well you're here now, so let's crack on, see if we can't get you all back to Blighty.

  • It is a dispiriting and sluggish welcome to Old Blighty.

    Blog text (20)
  • There's good news from Blighty, meanwhile: The Quietus reports that HMV has announced plans to stock more vinyl.

    Blog text (10)
  • It's always good to return to Blighty after a long trip abroad.

Synonyms

Britain
vsBlighty
487 1.0

A country in northwest Europe made of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland

is an informal historical name used by people abroad and in wartime
UK
vsBlighty
328 1.0

A country in north-west Europe made of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

is an informal historical name used by people abroad and in wartime
Great Britain
vsBlighty
76 1.1

An island in northwest Europe that includes England, Scotland, and Wales often used to mean the United Kingdom

is used to mean the whole country and can include Northern Ireland
United Kingdom
vsBlighty
74 1.0

A country in northwestern Europe made of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

is an informal historical name used by people abroad and in wartime

The official name of the country in northwest Europe made of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

is an informal historical name used by people abroad and in wartime

Compounds

blighty wound
  • Archaic
9.9

A wound that sends a British soldier home from the front, often in World War I

Surface Forms

Blighty singular
Blighties plural

Etymology

Blighty comes from the Indian word bilāyat (also spelled vilāyat), which meant 'foreign country' and was used in India for Britain. British soldiers picked up the word and made it into Blighty to mean 'home' or the UK, especially during wartime.