*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of broad

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰer-der.? Proto-Germanic *braidaz Proto-West Germanic *braid Old English brād Middle English brod English broad From Middle English brood, brode, from Old English brād (“broad, flat,

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
adj

Wide in extent or scope. · Extended, in the sense of diffused; open; clear; full. · Having a large measure of any thing or quality; unlimited; unrestrained. · Comprehensive; liberal; enlarged.

noun

A shallow lake, one of a number of bodies of water in eastern Norfolk and Suffolk. · A lathe tool for turning down the insides and bottoms of cylinders. · A British gold coin worth 20 shillings, issued by the Commonwealth of England in 1656. · A kind of floodlight.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰer-der.? Proto-Germanic *braidaz Proto-West Germanic *braid Old English brād Middle English brod English broad From Middle English brood, brode, from Old English brād (“broad, flat, open, extended, spacious, wide, ample, copious”), from Proto-West Germanic *braid, from Proto-Germanic *braidaz (“broad, wide”), of uncertain origin. Cognates Cognate with Yola brode (“broad”), North Frisian bread, breeđ, briad, briid, briidj (“wide”), Saterland Frisian and West Frisian breed (“broad, wide”), Bavarian brad, broad (“broad, wide”), Central Franconian and Luxembourgish breet (“broad, wide”), Dutch breed (“broad, wide”), German breit (“broad, wide”), Vilamovian braat (“broad, wide”), Yiddish ברייט (breyt, “broad, wide”), Danish and Swedish bred (“broad, wide”), Faroese and Icelandic breiður (“broad, wide”), Norwegian Bokmål bred, brei (“broad, wide”), Norwegian Nynorsk brei, breid (“broad, wide”), Gothic 𐌱𐍂𐌰𐌹𐌸𐍃 (braiþs, “broad, wide”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionbroodenm
  • Inherited-form mentionbrādang · broad, flat, open, extended, spacious, wide, ample, copious
  • Inherited-form mention*braidgmw-pro
  • Inherited-form mention*braidazgem-pro · broad, wide
  • Cognate mentionbrodeyol · broad
  • Cognate mentionbreadfrr
  • Cognate mentionbradbar
  • Cognate mentionbreednl · broad, wide
  • Cognate mentionbreitde · broad, wide
  • Cognate mentionbraatwym · broad, wide
  • Cognate mentionברייטyi · broad, wide
  • Cognate mentionbrednb
  • Cognate mentionbreinn
  • Cognate mention𐌱𐍂𐌰𐌹𐌸𐍃got · broad, wide

This page abbreviates 8 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:brod<id:wide>",
        "id": "wide",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *bʰer-der.?\nProto-Germanic *braidaz\nProto-West Germanic *braid\nOld English brād\nMiddle English brod\nEnglish broad\n[Appendix:Glossary#derived_terms|Derived]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"id\" : \"bear\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*bʰer-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*braidaz\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*braid\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"brād\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"brod\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"broad\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"wide\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"broad\" id=\"English:_wide\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "brood"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English brood"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "brād",
        "t": "broad, flat, open, extended, spacious, wide, ample, copious"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English brād (“broad, flat, open, extended, spacious, wide, ample, copious”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*braid"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *braid"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*braidaz",
        "t": "broad, wide"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *braidaz (“broad, wide”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "unc",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "nocap": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "uncertain"
    },
    {
      "name": "col-top",
      "args": {
        "1": "2",
        "2": "cog"
      },
      "expansion": "Cognates"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "yol",
        "2": "brode",
        "t": "broad"
      },
      "expansion": "Yola brode (“broad”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "frr",
        "2": "bread"
      },
      "expansion": "North Frisian bread"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "stq,fy",
        "2": "breed",
        "t": "broad, wide"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian and West Frisian breed (“broad, wide”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "bar",
        "2": "brad"
      },
      "expansion": "Bavarian brad"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gmw-cfr,lb",
        "2": "breet",
        "t": "broad, wide"
      },
      "expansion": "Central Franconian and Luxembourgish breet (“broad, wide”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "breed",
        "t": "broad, wide"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch breed (“broad, wide”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "breit",
        "t": "broad, wide"
      },
      "expansion": "German breit (“broad, wide”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "wym",
        "2": "braat",
        "t": "broad, wide"
      },
      "expansion": "Vilamovian braat (“broad, wide”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "yi",
        "2": "ברייט",
        "t": "broad, wide"
      },
      "expansion": "Yiddish ברייט (breyt, “broad, wide”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da,sv",
        "2": "bred",
        "t": "broad, wide"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish and Swedish bred (“broad, wide”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fo,is",
        "2": "breiður",
        "t": "broad, wide"
      },
      "expansion": "Faroese and Icelandic breiður (“broad, wide”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nb",
        "2": "bred"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Bokmål bred"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nn",
        "2": "brei"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Nynorsk brei"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "got",
        "2": "𐌱𐍂𐌰𐌹𐌸𐍃",
        "t": "broad, wide"
      },
      "expansion": "Gothic 𐌱𐍂𐌰𐌹𐌸𐍃 (braiþs, “broad, wide”)"
    },
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      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:brod<id:wide>",
        "id": "wide",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *bʰer-der.?\nProto-Germanic *braidaz\nProto-West Germanic *braid\nOld English brād\nMiddle English brod\nEnglish broad"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*bʰer-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/bʰer-#Proto-Indo-European:_bear"
    ],
    [
      "*braidaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/braidaz#Proto-Germanic:_wide"
    ],
    [
      "*braid",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/braid#Proto-West_Germanic:_wide"
    ],
    [
      "brād",
      "brad#Old_English:_wide"
    ],
    [
      "brod",
      "brod#Middle_English:_wide"
    ],
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      "brood",
      "brood#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "brode",
      "brode#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "brād",
      "brad#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*braid",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/braid"
    ],
    [
      "*braidaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/braidaz"
    ],
    [
      "brode",
      "brode#Yola"
    ],
    [
      "bread",
      "bread#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "breeđ",
      "breeđ#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "briad",
      "briad#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "briid",
      "briid#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "briidj",
      "briidj#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "Saterland Frisian",
      "breed#Saterland_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "breed",
      "breed#West_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "brad",
      "brad#Bavarian"
    ],
    [
      "broad",
      "broad#Bavarian"
    ],
    [
      "Central Franconian",
      "breet#Central_Franconian"
    ],
    [
      "breet",
      "breet#Luxembourgish"
    ],
    [
      "breed",
      "breed#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "breit",
      "breit#German"
    ],
    [
      "braat",
      "braat#Vilamovian"
    ],
    [
      "ברייט",
      "ברייט#Yiddish"
    ],
    [
      "Danish",
      "bred#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "bred",
      "bred#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "Faroese",
      "breiður#Faroese"
    ],
    [
      "breiður",
      "breiður#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "bred",
      "bred#Norwegian_Bokmål"
    ],
    [
      "brei",
      "brei#Norwegian_Bokmål"
    ],
    [
      "brei",
      "brei#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "breid",
      "breid#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "𐌱𐍂𐌰𐌹𐌸𐍃",
      "𐌱𐍂𐌰𐌹𐌸𐍃#Gothic"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Wide in extent or scope.",
        "Extended, in the sense of diffused; open; clear; full.",
        "Having a large measure of any thing or quality; unlimited; unrestrained.",
        "Comprehensive; liberal; enlarged."
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        "A shallow lake, one of a number of bodies of water in eastern Norfolk and Suffolk.",
        "A lathe tool for turning down the insides and bottoms of cylinders.",
        "A British gold coin worth 20 shillings, issued by the Commonwealth of England in 1656.",
        "A kind of floodlight."
      ],
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

A prostitute, a woman of loose morals. · A woman or girl.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Early 20th century, apparent phono-semantic matching of German Braut (“bride”, also “girlfriend”, and more generally “broad, chick”).

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "psm",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "de",
        "3": "Braut",
        "t": "bride”, also “girlfriend”, and more generally “broad, chick",
        "nocap": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "phono-semantic matching of German Braut (“bride”, also “girlfriend”, and more generally “broad, chick”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Braut",
      "Braut#German"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A prostitute, a woman of loose morals.",
        "A woman or girl."
      ],
      "tags": [
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        "dated",
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for broad →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-YnJvYWQ