The terminology of the British Isles refers to the words and phrases that are used to describe the (sometimes overlapping) geographical and political areas of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland and the smaller islands which surround them. The terms are often a source of confusion, partly owing to the similarity between some of the actual words used but also because they are often used loosely. Many of the words carry geographical and political connotations which are affected by the history of the islands. The purpose of this article is to explain the meanings of and relationships among the terms in use; many of these classifications are contentious . Summary The use of terms depends on context; words and phrases can be grouped into geographical, political, linguistic and sporting terms. In brief, the main terms and their simple explanations are as follows: Geographical terms: The British Isles is an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Continental Europe. It includes Ireland, Great Britain, the Isle of Man, Shetland, Orkney and thousands of smaller islands. Traditionally the Channel Islands are included, though they are geographically closer to mainland continental Europe, off the French coast of Normandy. This, in part, has resulted in the term being disputed. Great Britain is the largest island of the archipelago. Ireland is the second-largest island of the archipelago and lies directly to the west of Great Britain. The island of Ireland itself has its own islands. The full list of islands of the British Isles includes over 6,000 islands, of which 51 have an area larger than . Political terms: The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the parliamentary constitutional monarchy occupying the island of Great Britain, the small nearby islands (but not the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands), and the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland. Usually, it is shortened to the United Kingdom or the UK, or Britain.; Great Britain is sometimes used as a short form and is the name used by the UK in some international organisations. The abbreviation GB is frequently used for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in international agreements, e.g. Universal Postal Union and Road Traffic Convention, as well as in the ISO 3166 country codes (GB and GBR). England was also formerly used synecdochically to refer to the whole United Kingdom but this usage became rare