British Columbia
- proper noun
- /ˈbrɪtɪʃ kəˈlʌmbiə/
- In British Columbia, you can explore both the mountains and the ocean.
- British Columbia and Vancouver
- University of British Columbia
- British Columbia, Canada
I'm, I'm back in, I'm, I'm back in British Columbia, in Vancouver.
- I'm, I'm back in, I'm, I'm back in British Columbia, in Vancouver.
- And it was a the offspring of a rescue of an injured cougar in British Columbia and was a baby.
- And in fact, for days, the air quality was deemed the worst in the world in downtown Seattle from forest fires in British Columbia.
- And then we have fiber going West through through Chicago and Detroit, through Toronto and up north and all the way to British Columbia.
Examples
-
There are plans with the University of Northern British Columbia to start a school for carvers in Prince Rupert.
Academic text (1994) -
Welcome to Bamfield, British Columbia.
-
Funding for this project was provided by the Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia.
Academic text (1992) -
The principal environmental statute in British Columbia is the Waste Management Act.
Academic text (1992) -
The 1986 census data help explain the overall trend in British Columbia towards the increased election of women.
Academic text (1992) -
A development in nursing education in British Columbia provides a good example of this contradiction.
Academic text (2011) -
After flying for 5 hours and 50 minutes, the plane made a scheduled stopover in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Academic text (2013) -
Welcome to British Columbia.
-
Between 70 and 100 snow depth stations across British Columbia help meteorologists forecast avalanches.
Academic text (1994) -
A Xantus's hummingbird has been seen in a backyard in Gibsons, British Columbia.
Surface Forms
Morphology
British + Columbia
The compound clearly signals a place composed of 'British' + 'Columbia', so a B1 learner who knows both words would likely infer it is a region or territory associated with Britain. However, the specific geographic referent — that it is a Canadian province in western Canada — and the status of 'Columbia' as a place-name are not fully derivable from the constituent meanings alone, so the exact meaning requires prior knowledge.
Etymology
British Columbia gets its name from the large Columbia River, a name explorers and an early ship helped to spread. People added British when Britain made the area a colony, so the name means 'land by the Columbia River' that belonged to Britain.