breed
English
Alternative forms
- breede (archaic)
Etymology
From Middle English breden, from Old English brēdan, from Proto-Germanic *brōdijaną (“to brood”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreh₁- (“warm”). Cognate with Scots brede, breid, Saterland Frisian briede, West Frisian briede, Dutch broeden, German Low German bröden, German brüten.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /bɹiːd/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -iːd
Verb
breed (third-person singular simple present breeds, present participle breeding, simple past and past participle bred)
- To produce offspring sexually; to bear young.
- 2013 May-June, David Van Tassel, Lee DeHaan, “Wild Plants to the Rescue”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3:
- Plant breeding is always a numbers game. […] The wild species we use are rich in genetic variation, and individual plants are highly heterozygous and do not breed true. In addition, we are looking for rare alleles, so the more plants we try, the better.
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- (transitive) To give birth to; to be the native place of.
- a pond breeds fish; a northern country breeds stout men
- c. 1588–1593, William Shakespeare, “The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act II, scene iii]:
- Yet every mother breeds not sons alike.
- Of animals, to mate.
- To keep animals and have them reproduce in a way that improves the next generation’s qualities.
- To arrange the mating of specific animals.
- She wanted to breed her cow to the neighbor's registered bull.
- To propagate or grow plants trying to give them certain qualities.
- He tries to breed blue roses.
- To take care of in infancy and through childhood; to bring up.
- a. 1701 (date written), John Dryden, “The First Book of Homer’s Ilias”, in The Miscellaneous Works of John Dryden, […], volume IV, London: […] J[acob] and R[ichard] Tonson, […], published 1760, OCLC 863244003, page 437:
- Ah wretched me! by fates averſe, decreed, / To bring thee forth with pain, with care to breed!
- 1859, Edward Everett, An Oration on the Occasion of the Dedication of the Statue of Mr. Webster
- born and bred on the verge of the wilderness
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- To yield or result in.
- disaster breeds famine; familiarity breeds contempt
- 1634 October 9 (first performance), [John Milton], H[enry] Lawes, editor, A Maske Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634: […] [Comus], London: […] [Augustine Matthews] for Hvmphrey Robinson, […], published 1637, OCLC 228715864; reprinted as Comus: […] (Dodd, Mead & Company’s Facsimile Reprints of Rare Books; Literature Series; no. I), New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1903, OCLC 1113942837, lines 156–157, page 6:
- lest the place / And my queint habits breed astonishment
- (obsolete, intransitive) To be formed in the parent or dam; to be generated, or to grow, like young before birth.
- (sometimes as breed up) To educate; to instruct; to bring up
- 1724, [Gilbert] Burnet, [Gilbert Burnet Jr.], editor, Bishop Burnet’s History of His Own Time. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: […] Thomas Ward […], OCLC 863504080:
- No care was taken to breed him a Protestant.
- 1691, [John Locke], Some Considerations of the Consequences of the Lowering of Interest, and Raising the Value of Money. […], London: […] Awnsham and John Churchill, […], published 1692, OCLC 933799310:
- His farm may not […] remove his children too far from him, or the trade he breeds them up in.
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- To produce or obtain by any natural process.
- 1693, [John Locke], “§13”, in Some Thoughts Concerning Education, London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […], OCLC 1161614482:
- Children would breed their teeth with much less danger.
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- (intransitive) To have birth; to be produced, developed or multiplied.
- 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act III, scene i]:
- Fair encounter
Of two most rare affections! Heavens rain grace
On that which breed between 'em!
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- (transitive) to ejaculate inside someone's anus
- 2018, Cassandra Dee, Paying My Boyfriend's Debt: A Billionaire Bad Boy Romance, Cassandra Dee Romance via PublishDrive
- “God, I love your ass,” he says, his voice almost a growl. “I'm gonna breed this ass tonight.”
- 2015, David Holly, The Heart's Eternal Desire, Bold Strokes Books Inc, →ISBN:
- “ Yes,” I said. “You want to fuck me, and I submit to you. My body is yours. Stuff me. Fill me. Breed my ass. Seed me, my love.
- year unknown, Tymber Dalton, Disorder in the House [Suncoast Society], Siren-BookStrand (→ISBN), page 32:
- “Then...you get...bred.”
- 2017, Casper Graham, Same Script, Different Cast [Scripts & Lyrics Trilogy], Siren-BookStrand, →ISBN, page 41:
- “I can't...can't last, baby.” / “I don't care. Come inside me. Breed me.”
- 2017, Casper Graham, Nothing Short of a Miracle [Scripts & Lyrics Trilogy], Siren-BookStrand, →ISBN, page 19:
- "Are you clean?" he asked. / "Yeah, I get tested recently." / "Perfect. Breed me.”
- 2018, Cassandra Dee, Paying My Boyfriend's Debt: A Billionaire Bad Boy Romance, Cassandra Dee Romance via PublishDrive
Synonyms
- (take care of in infancy and through childhood): raise, bring up, rear
Derived terms
- best of breed
- breedable
- breeder
- breed in and in
- breeding
- breed like rabbits
- breed up
- cross-breed
Related terms
- breed in the bone
Translations
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Noun
breed (plural breeds)
- All animals or plants of the same species or subspecies.
- a breed of tulip
- a breed of animal
- A race or lineage; offspring or issue.
- 1609, William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 12”, in Shake-speares Sonnets. […], London: By G[eorge] Eld for T[homas] T[horpe] and are to be sold by William Aspley, OCLC 216596634:
- And nothing 'gainst Time's scythe can make defence
Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence.
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- (informal) A group of people with shared characteristics.
- People who were taught classical Greek and Latin at school are a dying breed.
- (derogatory) Ellipsis of half-breed.
Derived terms
- different breed of cat
- half-breed
Translations
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Anagrams
- berde, brede, rebed
Afrikaans
Etymology
From Dutch breed, from Middle Dutch brêet, from Old Dutch *brēd, from Proto-West Germanic *braid.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /brɪə̯t/
Audio (file)
Adjective
breed (attributive breë, comparative breër, superlative breedste)
- broad
Dutch
Etymology
From Middle Dutch brêet, from Old Dutch *brēd, from Proto-West Germanic *braid, from Proto-Germanic *braidaz.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /breːt/, [breːt], [breɪ̯t], [bʀ-]
audio (file) - Hyphenation: breed
- Rhymes: -eːt
Adjective
breed (comparative breder, superlative breedst)
- broad, wide
- Antonyms: nauw, smal
- large, ample
Inflection
Inflection of breed | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
uninflected | breed | |||
inflected | brede | |||
comparative | breder | |||
positive | comparative | superlative | ||
predicative/adverbial | breed | breder | het breedst het breedste | |
indefinite | m./f. sing. | brede | bredere | breedste |
n. sing. | breed | breder | breedste | |
plural | brede | bredere | breedste | |
definite | brede | bredere | breedste | |
partitive | breeds | breders | — |
Derived terms
- breedband
- breedbeeld
- breeddoek
- breedgebouwd
- breedgerand
- breedgeschouderd
- breedgetakt
- breedgetakt
- breedheid
- breedspraak
- breedte
- breedvoerig
- hemelsbreed
- kamerbreed
- verbreden
Descendants
- Afrikaans: breed
- Berbice Creole Dutch: brete
- Negerhollands: breed
- → Caribbean Javanese: bradi (via Sranan Tongo)
- → West Frisian: breed
Anagrams
- brede
Middle English
Noun
breed
- Alternative form of brede (“breadth”)
Noun
breed
- Alternative form of bred (“bread”)
Saterland Frisian
Etymology
From Old Frisian brēd, from Proto-West Germanic *braid. Cognates include West Frisian brie and German breit.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /breːd/
- Hyphenation: breed
- Rhymes: -eːd
Adjective
breed (inflected breede, comparative brader, superlative breedst, braadst)
- wide
Antonyms
- (wide): smäl
References
- Marron C. Fort (2015), “breed”, in Saterfriesisches Wörterbuch mit einer phonologischen und grammatischen Übersicht, Buske, →ISBN
West Frisian
Etymology
Borrowed from Dutch breed, displacing older brie.
Adjective
breed
- broad, wide
Inflection
Inflection of breed | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
uninflected | breed | |||
inflected | brede | |||
comparative | breder | |||
positive | comparative | superlative | ||
predicative/adverbial | breed | breder | it breedst it breedste | |
indefinite | c. sing. | brede | bredere | breedste |
n. sing. | breed | breder | breedste | |
plural | brede | bredere | breedste | |
definite | brede | bredere | breedste | |
partitive | breeds | breders | — |
Derived terms
- breedteken
Further reading
- “breed”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011
Yola
Etymology
From Middle English bred, from Old English brēad, from Proto-Germanic *braudą. Cognates include English bread and Scots breid.
Noun
breed
- bread
References
- Jacob Poole (1867), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, page 28