▪ I. † brede, n.1 Obs.
Forms: 1 brǽde, bréde, 2–5 brede; also 3 brade, bread(e, 6 Sc. breid.
[OE. brǽde, Angl. bréde, f. OTeut. *bræ̂d-an, brede v.1, to roast. A synonymous derivative of the same root was WGer. brâdon-, OHG. brâto (Ger. braten) roast flesh, whence Romanic bradon, OF. braon, Eng. brawn.]
Roast meat. Obs. (but cf. sweetbread.)
| a 1000 Gloss. in Wr.-Wülcker 127 Assura, uel assatura, bræde. c 1205 Lay. 30583 He nom his aȝe þeh..þer of he makede brede [1250 breade]. a 1250 Moral Ode in Trin. Coll. Hom. 224 Swines brade is wel swete. a 1250 Owl & Night. 1630 Me mai mid me biȝete Wel gode brede to his mete. c 1300 K. Alis. 5249 Beef and motoun, Bredes, breddes, and venysoun. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 1049 Þare ware rostez fulle ruyde, and rewfulle bredez. c 1420 Avow. Arth. xxxi, Bothe the birds and the brede, To Carlele thay bringe. [1535 Stewart Cron. Scotl. (1858) I. 87 Gif ony beist..war slane, Ilk craftisman thairof to haif ane breid.] |
▪ II. † brede, n.2 Obs. exc. north. dial.
Forms: 1 brædu, -o (acc. brǽde), 2–3 bræde, breade, 3–7 brede, (4 brade, 5 brēd), 4–6 breede, 6–7 breed, breade, (7 braid), 5– Sc. breid, (6 breyde).
[OE. brǽdu, -o; corresp. to OFris. brêde, LG. brêde, OHG. breitî, MHG. and mod.G. breite, ON. breidd (Sw. bred, Da. brede), Goth. braidei: —OTeut. *braidjôn-, abstr. n. f. *braido-z, in OE. brâd broad. In the 16th c. it began to be spelt breade, but this form was not established before the word was itself superseded in Eng. use by the new formation bredeth, breadth. Brede still survives in north Eng. dialects, and in Sc., where it is usually written breid (brid): cf. abreid.]
1. Breadth, width.
| a 1000 Ags. Psalms cxvii[iix]. 45 Ic on bealde brædu [Vulg. in latitudine] gange. 1297 R. Glouc. 385 Þat folc of Ssropssyre..robbede Wurcestre ssyre in lengþe & in brede. c 1320 Syr Bevis 536 Neither alingthe ne on brade. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 89 Twenti cubitis longe and ten of breede. c 1400 Mandeville ix. 100 In brede 150 Furlonges. 1562 J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 142 Not the breade of one heare. 1551 Turner Herbal (1568) B j a, The stalke is a hand brede hygher. 1875 Robinson Whitby Gloss. s.v., ‘Quite full abrede’, sufficient in breadth. |
b. acre brede: the breadth of an acre, i.e. 4 poles or perches, also called a fur-brede (cf. furlong). A brede of underwood, etc.: a slice of an acre-brede, or 4 poles broad, by 1 pole long.
| c 1470 Henry Wallace i. 400 Þe suerd flaw fra hym a fur breid on ye land. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. ccccxx. 736 One coulde nat se an acre of brede. 1525 Ibid. II. clxxxvii. [clxxxiv.] 573 An acre brede of lande of fro the kynge. 1677 Plot Oxfordsh. 262 Dividing them..into Acres and Braids (or bredths), every Acre containing forty braids, a braid being one pole long and four broad. |
2. A piece of stuff of the full breadth.
| 1554 Bury Wills (1850) 144 Oon paire of fyne shetis of ij bredes and a halfe, and oon paier of two bredes. 1578 Inventories (1815) 211 (Jam.) Of claith of silver..contening threttie lang breiddis, sevin schort breidis. 1855 Whitby Gloss, Breeds, breadths of cloth. Mod. Sc. How monie breids will ye put in the skirt? |
3. in brede, on brede, a brede, mod.Sc. a-breid: abroad.
| [c 1205 Lay. 21995 He is imeten a bræde fif & twenti foten.] a 1300 E.E. Psalter cxviii [ix]. 45, I yhode in brede. c 1400 Destr. Troy 3022 The here of hir hede..bost out vppon brede bright on to loke. c 1460 Towneley Myst. (1836) 1 Make we hevene and erth, on brede. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 208 b, In brede it extended the armes. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 610 Tha landis all on breid. 1787 Burns Salut. Auld Mare xii, Spread abreed thy weelfill'd brisket. 1816 Scott Antiq. II. 245 (Jam.) The prophecy got abread in the country. |
▪ III. brede, n.3 arch.
(briːd)
Also 7 breade, bred, 8 breed, bread.
[A variant of braid n., in 16–17th c. bread(e; used archaically by modern poets. Cf. brede v.3]
1. Anything plaited, entwined, or interwoven; a plait; interweaving, braiding, embroidery; = braid n. 4.
| 1643 Milton Divorce i. vi. (1851) 33 His silk'n breades untwine, and slip their knots. 1689 Lond. Gaz. No. 2444/4 He had on..a blew Rateen Wastcoat with Silver Brede. 1697 Dryden Ess. Georg., Virg. (1721) I. 201 A curious Brede of Needle-work. 1820 Keats Lamia 1, Spoilt all her silver mail and golden brede. 1847 Tennyson Princ. vi. 118 In glowing gauze and golden brede. 1861 Lowell Washers of Shroud iv, The ancient Three..Still crooning, as they weave their endless brede. |
2. A twist or plait of hair: see braid, n. 4 b.
| 1696 Kennett Rom. Antiq. ii. iv. (1713) 253 They made use of a twist or brede of hair. a 1721 Prior Henry & E. 426 Thy comely tresses..In graceful breeds, with various ribbon bound. 1740 Somerville Hobbinol iii. (1749) 163 Her plaited Hair behind her in a Brede Hung careless. |
3. Applied by the poets to things that show or suggest interweaving of colours, or embroidery, esp. to the prismatic colouring of the rainbow. But used by some modern writers in sense of ‘colouring, dye’, apparently from misunderstanding their predecessors.
| 1708 J. Philips Cyder ii. 67 The show'ry Arch, With lifted Colours gay..Delights, and puzles the Beholders Eye, That views the watry Brede. 1744 Akenside Pleas. Imag. ii. 118 Thro' the brede Of colours changing from the splendid rose To the pale violet's dejected hue. 1867 J. Ingelow Story of Doom i. 21 The almug, and the gophir shot their heads Into the crimson brede that dyed the world. 1869 Lowell Seaweed iv, The same wave that rims the Carib shore With momentary brede of pearl and gold. |
4. Comb. brede-stitch (improp. bred-, bread-).
| 1640 J. Taylor (Water P.) Praise Needle (ed. 12) Pref., Chain-Stitch, Brane Bred-stitch, Fishes-stitch, Irish-stitch, Queen-stitch. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. xi, They understand their needle, breadstitch..and all manner of plainwork. |
▪ IV. brede, v.1 Obs.
Forms: 1 brǽdan, brédan, 2–5 brede(n. pa. tense 1 brǽdde, brédde, 2–4 bradde, 2–5 bredde. pa. pple. 1 brǽded, brǽdd, 2–3 brad, 3–4 bred(d.
[Common Teut.: OE. brǽdan (Angl. brédan) = OFris. brêda, MDu. brâden (Du. braden) str. vb., OHG. brâtan (MHG. brâten, mod.G. braten), str. vb. ‘to roast’. OTeut. *bræ̂d-an was apparently a derivative (Aryan type bhrē-dh-) of the verb root *bræ̂-, *brê- (Aryan *bhrē-) to burn, heat, warm: see breath, brood. No traces of the strong inflexions are found in OE., and the vb. passed entirely out of use c 1500. See also brede n.1]
trans. To roast, broil, toast.
| a 1000 Colloq. Monast. 29 (Bosw.) We maᵹon brædan ða þing ðe to brædenne synd. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 53 He bindeð vppon þa [mousetrap] swike chese and bret hine for þon þet he scolde swote smelle. c 1205 Lay. 25986 His flæsce he gon breden. a 1225 Juliana 170 In led we scholle hire brede. a 1300 Cursor M. 6081 It sal noght siþen be bot bred, þis lamb. c 1325 Coer de L. 1492 Makes our mete Whether ȝe wole sethe or brede. c 1330 Arth. & Merl. 9305 Man and hous thai brent and bredden. c 1340 Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 891 Summe [fishes] brad on þe gledez. 1509 Parl. Devylles xii, I wyll..in hell his soule brede. |
▪ V. † brede, v.2 Obs. or dial.
Forms: 1 brǽdan, 2–5 brede(n, 3–7 brede, 6–7 breade, mod. dial. bread, brede, etc. pa. tense 1 brǽdde, 3 bræd, 4 brad, -de, 4–6 bred, 5 bret, 9 brad.
[Common Teut.: OE. brǽdan, corresp. to OS. brêdian, OHG. breiten (MHG. and mod.G. breiten), ON. breiða (Sw. breda, Da. brede), Goth. braidjan, to make broad, f. braid-s, in OE. brád, broad.]
1. trans. To make broad; to broaden, dilate.
| c 890 K. ælfred Bæda i. viii. (Bosw.) Hi heora stowe bræddon. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 49 Bredyn or make more brode, dilato. 1674 Ray N.C. Wds. 8 Breade, to make broad, to spread. |
2. trans. To spread out, spread about, extend.
| c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. A. 813 For vus he lette hym..brede vpon a bostwys bem. c 1340 Cursor M. 534 As onde wiþ host in brest is bred [Cott. spred]. c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. xi. 101 Let brede hem, lest thai hete and be the wers. ? a 1600 Scot. Field 24 in Furniv. Percy Folio I. 213 On this side Bosworthe in a bancke thei bred forth their standards. 1802 J. Wilson (Congleton) MS. Let. to J. Boucher, Bread or brede Manure, i.e. to fling it about and spread it on the Land, is a very common Expression here; and also the Participle, as, They have brad it. |
3. intr. To spread, extend.
| c 1320 K. Alis. 3252 Thorugh the heorte brede the steil. c 1340 Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1928 He were a bleaunt of blwe, þat bradde to þe erþe. c 1400 Destr. Troy 8794 The bavme . bret thurgh the bones..euer folowand the fell. 1600 J. Dymmok Ireland (1843) 16 Thence yt [East Meath] breadeth to the Kinges county and the countie of Kildare. |
4. trans. To overspread, cover; spread (a table).
| c 1205 Lay. 18523 Bordes heo brædden. al þat folc æt & dronc. c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. B 1693 His berde I-brad alle his breste to þe bare vrþe. c 1400 Destr. Troy 383 Burdes were bred in the brade halle. Ibid. 1172 Þan rises þe sun, bredis with his beames all þe brode vales. |
▪ VI. † brede, v.3 Obs.
In 6–7 bread.
[A var. of braid v.: cf. the n. brede3.]
trans. To intertwine, plait, wreathe, twist; = braid v. 11.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 49 Bredynge of lacys or oþer lyke, laqueacio, nectio, connectio. 1501 Douglas Pal. Hon. iii. lxviii, The durris and the windois all war breddit With massie gold. 1596 Spenser F.Q. iii. ii. 50 Taking thrise three heares from off her head, Them trebly breaded in a threefold lace. 1686 Goad Celest. Bodies iii. iii. 475 They are Plaited and Breaded in the same Twine. 1695 Blackmore Pr. Arth. ix. 305 He slashed his breaded Whip. |