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)

1. 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.

2. (transitive) To give birth to; to be the native place of.

   a pond breeds fish; a northern country breeds stout men

   • c. 1588–1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :

     Yet every mother breeds not sons alike.

3. Of animals, to mate.
4. To keep animals and have them reproduce in a way that improves the next generation’s qualities.
5. To arrange the mating of specific animals.

   She wanted to breed her cow to the neighbor's registered bull.

6. To propagate or grow plants trying to give them certain qualities.

   He tries to breed blue roses.

7. 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 and R Tonson, , published 1760, →OCLC, 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

8. To yield or result in.

   disaster breeds famine;  familiarity breeds contempt

   • 1634 October 9 (first performance), [John Milton], edited by H[enry] Lawes, A Maske Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634: , London: [Augustine Matthews] for Hvmphrey Robinson, , published 1637, →OCLC; 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, page 6, lines 156–157:

     lest the place / And my queint habits breed astonishment

9. (obsolete, intransitive) To be formed in the parent or dam; to be generated, or to grow, like young before birth.
10. (sometimes as breed up) To educate; to instruct; to bring up
    • 1724, [Gilbert] Burnet, edited by , Bishop Burnet’s History of His Own Time. , volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Thomas Ward , →OCLC:

      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:

      His farm may not […] remove his children too far from him, or the trade he breeds them up in.

11. To produce or obtain by any natural process.
    • 1693, [John Locke], “§13”, in Some Thoughts Concerning Education, London: A and J Churchill, , →OCLC:

      Children would breed their teeth with much less danger.

12. (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 Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :

      Fair encounter
      Of two most rare affections! Heavens rain grace
      On that which breed between 'em!

13. (transitive) To ejaculate inside; to attempt to impregnate.
    • 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 , Siren-BookStrand (→ISBN), page 32:

      “Then...you get...bred.”

    • 2017, Casper Graham, Same Script, Different Cast , 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 , Siren-BookStrand, →ISBN, page 19:

      "Are you clean?" he asked. / "Yeah, I get tested recently." / "Perfect. Breed me.”

Synonyms

• (take care of in infancy and through childhood): raise, bring up, rear

Derived terms

Related terms

• breed in the bone

Translations

Noun

breed (plural breeds)

1. All animals or plants of the same species or subspecies.

   a breed of tulip

   a breed of animal

2. 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:

     And nothing 'gainst Time's scythe can make defence
     Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence.

3. (informal) A group of people with shared characteristics.

   People who were taught classical Greek and Latin at school are a dying breed.

4. (derogatory) Ellipsis of half-breed.

Derived terms

Translations

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)

1. broad

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch brêet, from Old Dutch *brēd, from Proto-West Germanic *braid, from Proto-Germanic *braidaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /breːt/, , ,

• audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: breed
• Rhymes: -eːt

Adjective

breed (comparative breder, superlative breedst)

1. broad, wide

   Antonyms: nauw, smal

2. large, ample

Inflection

Derived terms

• breedband
• breedbeeld
• breedbekstrandloper
• breeddoek
• breedgebouwd
• breedgerand
• breedgeschouderd
• breedgetakt
• breedgetakt
• breedheid
• breedlipneushoorn
• breedspraak
• breedstaartkolibrie
• 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

Etymology 1

Noun

breed

1. Alternative form of brede (“breadth”)

Etymology 2

Noun

breed

1. 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 (masculine breeden, feminine, plural or definite breede, comparative brader, superlative breedst, braadst)

1. wide

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of "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

1. broad, wide

Inflection

Derived terms

• breedteken

Further reading

• “breed”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

Yola

Etymology

From Middle English breed, from Old English brēad, from Proto-Germanic *braudą. Cognates include English bread and Scots breid.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɾiːd/
• Homophone: breede

Noun

breed

1. bread
   • 1927, “PAUDEEN FOUGHLAAN'S WEDDEEN”, in THE ANCIENT DIALECT OF THE BARONIES OF FORTH AND BARGY, COUNTY WEXFORD, page 133, lines 9:

     Thar was bacoon and gubbages, breed and kippeens,

     There was bacon and cabbages, bread and kippins,

References