broad
pronunciation
How to pronounce broad in British English:
UK [brɔːd]
How to pronounce broad in American English:
US [brɔːd]
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- Noun:
- slang term for a woman
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- Adjective:
- having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
- broad in scope or content
- not detailed or specific
- lacking subtlety; obvious
- being at a peak or culminating point
- very large in expanse or scope
- (of speech) heavily and noticeably regional
- showing or characterized by broad-mindedness
Word Origin
- broad
- broad: [OE] Broad’s close relatives are widespread in the Germanic languages (German breit, for example, Dutch breed, and Swedish bred), pointing to a prehistoric Germanic ancestor *braithaz, but no trace of the word is found in any non-Germanic Indo-European language. The original derived noun was brede, which was superseded in the 16th century by breadth. The 20th-century American slang noun use ‘woman’ may come from an obsolete American compound broadwife, short for abroadwife, meaning ‘woman away from her husband’; this was a term applied to female slaves in relation to their new ‘masters’.=> breadth
- broad (adj.)
- Old English brad "broad, flat, open, extended," from Proto-Germanic *braithaz (cognates: Old Frisian bred, Old Norse breiðr, Dutch breed, German breit, Gothic brouþs), which is of unknown origin. Not found outside Germanic languages. No clear distinction in sense from wide. Related: Broadly. Broad-brim as a style of hat (1680s, broad-brimmed) in 18c.-19c. suggested "Quaker male" from their characteristic attire.
- broad (n.)
- "woman," slang, 1911, perhaps suggestive of broad (adj.) hips, but it also might trace to American English abroadwife, word for a woman (often a slave) away from her husband. Earliest use of the slang word suggests immorality or coarse, low-class women. Because of this negative association, and the rise of women's athletics, the track and field broad jump was changed to the long jump c. 1967.
Antonym
Example
- 1. Such conclusions have broad implications for financial markets .
- 2. The fomc has at least three broad options .
- 3. Policies that do so span a broad spectrum .
- 4. But a broad picture does emerge .
- 5. Make broad strokes or small ones ?