Etymology

broaden

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Today it means: To make broad or broader. Full definition →

English broad ← Middle English brod ← Old English brād
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broaden · verb1

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰer-der.?
  2. Proto-Germanic*braidaz
  3. Proto-West Germanic*braid
  4. Old Englishbrād
  5. Middle Englishbrod
  6. Englishbroad
  7. English todaybroaden

From broad + -en (verbal suffix).

Broaden · proper noun2

  1. Old English · derived frombrād“broad”
  2. English todayBroaden

Perhaps a topographic surname for someone who lived in a broad valley, from Old English brād (“broad”) + dene (“valley”). Alternatively, it could be a variant of the surname Braden.

Words from the same roots

Old Englishbrād all →

broadBradleyBradfordbradyBradshawBradburyBroadbentBradstreetBradfieldBraidwoodbroadusBradwayBroadwellBraybrookeBradmoreBroadclyst

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.