Breton

¹ American  

[bruh-tawn] / brəˈtɔn /

noun

1. André 1896–1966, French poet, essayist, and critic.

2. Jules Adolphe 1827–1906, French painter.

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Breton ² American  

[bret-n, bruh-tawn] / ˈbrɛt n, brəˈtɔn /

noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Brittany.

2. Also called Armorican.  Also called Armoric.  the Celtic language of Brittany.

3. (often lowercase) a round hat for women, with a flat crown and a turned-up brim.

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adjective

1. pertaining to Brittany, the Bretons, or their language.

Breton ¹ British  

/ ˈbrɛtən, brətɔ̃ /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of Brittany, its people, or their language

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noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Brittany, esp one who speaks the Breton language

2. the indigenous language of Brittany, belonging to the Brythonic subgroup of the Celtic family of languages

Breton ² British  

/ brətɔ̃ /

noun

1. André (ɑ̃dre). 1896–1966, French poet and art critic: founder and chief theorist of surrealism, publishing the first surrealist manifesto in 1924

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Etymology

Origin of Breton

1815–20; < French breton; replacing Britain, Brit ( t ) on, Breton used for both this sense and the sense of Briton

Example Sentences

A former top tech regulator at the commission, Breton often clashed with tech tycoons including Musk over their obligations to follow EU rules.

From Barron's • Feb. 20, 2026

The fossil was found on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, a location known for difficult and sometimes dangerous fieldwork.

From Science Daily • Feb. 11, 2026

Cambridge Rowing would be "securing a commercial advantage as a direct benefit of the opponent's reputation", Le Breton continued.

From BBC • Feb. 10, 2026

The most infamous of these figures is Thierry Breton, who was instrumental in passing the DSA while on the European Commission.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 21, 2026

And a request: Will Theo please send him any prints he has by some artists Vincent admires, including Jean-Francois Millet and Jules Breton, on whose studio door he was too timid to knock.

From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman