wide English · revision 3166

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725, Beowulf|origins=gem-pro *wīdaz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /waɪd/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|wid]], wide,^(MWU 2024)^(Barnhart 1988) [[inh|ang|wīd|t=wide, vast, long]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from [[gem-pro|*wīdaz]],^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline) the source also of Old Saxon and Old Frisian wīd, Dutch wijd, Old High German wīt (German weit) and Old Norse víðr.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) Its further origin is uncertain:^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) Barnhart compares Sanskrit vīta- “gone apart”, from [[ine-pro|*wītós]], from *wi- “apart” and *itós “gone”,^(Barnhart 1988) and Etymonline cites Watkins for a PIE *wi-ito-, from the root *wi- “apart, away”,^(Etymonline) while Merriam-Webster suggests a prehistoric West and North Germanic compound.^(MWU 2024) The adverb is Old English wīde, from the adjective.^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old English wīd, “having great extent, vast”, is found about 725 in ''Beowulf'',^(Barnhart 1988) and was also used of time;^(Etymonline) Middle English wide is from probably 1200, in the ''Ancrene Riwle'' and Layamon.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The basic sense is extent from side to side, and in early use also vastness in general.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Garments that were wide were large and loose, from before 1225.^(OED 1989) The sense “distended, spread apart” is by about 1500,^(Etymonline) “embracing many subjects” from the 1530s,^(Etymonline) and “missing the intended target” from the 1580s.^(Etymonline) A dialect with a broad accent was called wide by the mid-15th century.^(Etymonline) As the second part of compounds such as ''nationwide'' and ''worldwide'', “extending through the whole of”, it is from late Old English.^(Etymonline) In cricket a ''wide'' is a ball bowled out of the batsman's reach, from 1846.^(OED 1989) ''Wide open'', “unguarded, exposed to attack”, is by 1915, first in boxing,^(Etymonline) ''wide-awake'' from 1818, in Shelley,^(Barnhart 1988) and ''widen'' from the 17th century.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – Old English wīd.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1225 – of garments, large and loose.^(OED 1989)

+ * mid-15th century – of a dialect, broad.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1500 – spread apart.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1530s – embracing many subjects.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1580s – missing the target.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1818 – ''wide-awake''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1846 – in cricket, a wide ball.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1915 – ''wide open''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1931 – ''wide-screen''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Measuring a great distance from side to side; [[broad]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Having a specified width: ''three feet wide''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Covering a large range; including many things: ''a wide choice''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Fully open: ''wide eyes''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Far from the intended [[target]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(in compounds)'' Throughout a specified area: ''nationwide''.^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # Over a large area; [[far]] and wide.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To the full extent: ''wide open''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # So as to miss a target.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(cricket)'' A ball bowled out of the batsman's reach, counting as a run.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[widely]]

+ * [[wideness]]

+ * [[wide-angle]]

+ * [[doublewide]]

+ * [[overwide]]

+ * [[superwide]]

+ * [[ultrawide]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[width]]

+ * [[widen]]

+ * [[worldwide]]

+ * [[nationwide]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Wide'' and ''broad'' are often interchangeable, but ''wide'' is preferred for openings and spaces between things, and ''broad'' for the extent of a surface.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}