English
broad
Broad comes from Old English brād ‘broad, flat, open, extended, spacious, wide,…’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *braidaz.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*braidaz‘broad’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*braid‘broad’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150brād‘broad’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500brood
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1606broad
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*braidaz‘broad’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*braid‘broad’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150brād‘broad’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500brood
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1606broad
Earliest quotation: c. 1606, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Macbeth: “as broad and general as the casing air”.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- ‘to bear, carry’
different, offer, difference, bar, birth, reference, transfer, bear, prefer, relative, suffer, translation, extraordinary, relation, fortune, relate, burden, barrel, differ, barn, referendum, frustration, bore, translate, fury, referee, bark, fertility, borne, fertile, breeze, baron, berth, phosphate, extravagant, embargo, fret, phosphorus, euphoria, defer, 158 more
through Proto-Germanic *braidaz ‘broad, wide’
through Middle English brood
Another origin of broad
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*brūdiz‘bride’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*brūdi‘bride’reconstructed
- Old High Germanc. 750–1050brūt‘bride’
- Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350same form
- Germanc. 1650–presentBraut‘bride”, also “girlfriend”, and more generally “broad, chick’
- Englishtodaybroad
Today it means
adj Wide in extent or scope.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *braidaz / broad