spread English · revision 2871

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1200, Ancrene Riwle|origins=gmw-pro *spraidijan}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /spred/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|spreden]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) probably [[inh|ang|*sprǣdan]], found in compounds such as tōsprǣdan “to spread out”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gmw-pro|*spraidijan]], a causative of a verb found in Old High German sprītan “to be extended”.^(Hoad 1986)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) It is related to Dutch spreiden and German spreiten.^(Barnhart 1988)^(NODE 1998) Watkins derives it from an extended form of [[ine-pro|*sper-|t=to strew]].^(Etymonline) The noun and adjective are from the verb.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To stretch out, extend over an area: the late 12th century in Etymonline^(Etymonline) and probably before 1200, in the ''Ancrene Riwle'' and Layamon, in Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ “To scatter, bestrew” is from the mid-13th century,^(Etymonline) “to extend, expand” from the mid-14th,^(Etymonline) and “to make wide” from the late 14th.^(Etymonline) The adjective, “stretched out”, is from about 1511.^(Barnhart 1988) The noun, the act of spreading, is in Bacon's ''Sylva Sylvarum'' (1626),^(Barnhart 1988) and the extent of something from 1691.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) Food for spreading, such as butter or jam, is from 1812,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and a copious meal from 1822.^(Etymonline) A bed cover is ''spread'' from 1848, originally American.^(Etymonline)^(Wright 1898) In economics the difference between two rates or prices is from 1919,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) and a ranch from 1927.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * late 12th century – to stretch out.^(Etymonline)

+ * mid-13th century – to scatter.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1511 – adjective, extended.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1626 – noun, the act of spreading.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1812 – food for spreading.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1822 – a copious meal.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1919 – a difference between prices.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1927 – a ranch.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To open or stretch out to full width: ''spread the map''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To put a thin layer of something over a surface.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To distribute or extend over a wide area or period.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To make or become widely known: ''the news spread''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To pass from person to person, as a disease.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The act of spreading; increase in extent.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The extent or range of something: ''a wide spread of ages''.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # A soft food for spreading on bread.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(informal)'' A large meal.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A cloth cover for a bed.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A difference between two prices or rates.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[spreadability]]

+ * [[spreadable]]

+ * [[spreadably]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sprout]]

+ * [[bedspread]]

+ * [[widespread]]

+ * [[outspread]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}