Etymologically
Log in

broadcast

Etymology and origin of the English word broadcast

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1707

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈbrɔːd.kɑːst/, US /ˈbrɑːd.kæst/, /ˈbrɔːd.kæst/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from broad and cast, the past participle of cast “to throw”,[2][3][4] first describing seed scattered widely by hand.[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The noun, a method of sowing by scattering seed over the whole surface: 1707 in the HTOED.[5] The adjective, of seed scattered by hand, is from 1744 in the HTOED and MWU, 1767 in the OED and Etymonline.[5][3][6][2]

Semantic evolution

The figurative adjective, widely spread, is from 1785.[2][6][5] The verb is from 1733 in the HTOED for sowing, but 1813 in the OED and Etymonline,[5][6][2] and figuratively, to spread widely, from 1829.[6][2] The adverb is from 1832.[2][6] The radio sense, to transmit programmes, is from 1916 in the HTOED and 1921 in the OED and Etymonline;[5][6][2] the noun, a radio transmission, is from 1919, and the adjective from 1922.[5][2]

Timeline

  • 1707 – a method of sowing.[5]
  • 1785 – widely spread.[2]
  • 1813 – to sow by scattering.[6]
  • 1829 – to spread widely.[6]
  • 1916 – to transmit by radio.[5]
  • 1919 – a radio programme.[5]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To send out a programme on radio or television.
  2. To tell something to many people: don't broadcast it.
  3. To scatter seed over a wide area.

Noun

  1. A radio or television programme, or its transmission.

Adjective

  1. Sent out by radio or television.
  2. Of seed, scattered widely.

Word family

  • broadcaster
  • radiobroadcast
  • cablecast
  • narrowcast
  • newscast
  • webcast
  • unbroadcasted
  • rebroadcast

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Broadcast.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/broadcast. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·