spread
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /spɹɛd/
rhymes: -ɛd
Forms: form: spreads
form: spreading
form: spread
form: spread
Etymology: From Middle English spreden, from Old English sprǣdan (“to spread, expand”), from Proto-Germanic *spraidijaną (“to spread”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)per- (“to strew, sow, sprinkle”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian spreede (“to spread”), West Frisian spriede (“to spread”), North Frisian spriedjen (“to spread”), Dutch spreiden (“to spread”), Low German spreden (“to spread”), German spreiten (“to spread, spread out”), Danish sprede (“to spread”), Norwegian spre, spreie (“to spread, disseminate”), Swedish sprida (“to spread”), Latin spernō, spargō, Ancient Greek σπείρω (speírō), Persian سپردن (sepordan, “to deposit”), English spurn.
Senses: examples: text: He spread his newspaper on the table.
glosses: To stretch out, open out (a material etc.) so that it more fully covers a given area of space.
examples: text: I spread my arms wide and welcomed him home.
glosses: To extend (individual rays, limbs etc.); to stretch out in varying or opposing directions. simple past and past participle of spread
examples: text: I spread the rice grains evenly over the floor.
synonyms: sow
glosses: To disperse, to scatter or distribute over a given area.
examples: text: Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine.[…]One thing that is true, though, is that murder rates have fallen over the centuries, as policing has spread and the routine carrying of weapons has diminished. Modern society may not have done anything about war. But peace is a lot more peaceful.
ref: 2013 July 20, “Old soldiers?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
text: As the Erzurum affair indicated, the janissaries in the provinces and in the capital city were in close touch, and thus the movements were quick to spread to Istanbul.
ref: 2018, Pál Fodor, The Business of State. Ottoman Finance Administration and Ruling Elites in Transition (1580s–1615) (Studien zur Sprache, Geschichte und Kultur der Turkvölker; 28), Berlin: Klaus Schwarz Verlag × De Gruyter, published 2020, →DOI, →ISBN, page 50:
text: I placed my hands on his cheeks, and this time, I kissed him. “Don't worry, I'm not going to let anything spoil our day. It's just you and me.” A sad smile spread across his face, and I could tell he wanted to believe me, but didn't.
ref: 2018 June 25, L.P. Dover, Going for the Hole, Books by L.P. Dover, LLC:
glosses: To proliferate; to become more widely present, to be disseminated.
examples: text: The missionaries quickly spread their new message across the country.
synonyms: sweep
glosses: To disseminate; to cause to proliferate, to make (something) widely known or present.
examples: text: I dropped my glass; the water spread quickly over the tiled floor.
synonyms: sweep
glosses: To take up a larger area or space; to expand, be extended.
examples: text: She liked to spread butter on her toast while it was still hot.
glosses: To smear, to distribute in a thin layer.
examples: text: He always spreads his toast with peanut butter and strawberry jam.
glosses: To cover (something) with a thin layer of some substance, as of butter.
examples: text: to spread a table
text: And Enid brought sweet cakes to make them cheer, / And in her veil enfolded, manchet bread. / And then, because their hall must also serve / For kitchen, boil'd the flesh, and spread the board, / And stood behind, and waited on the three.
ref: 1859, Alfred Tennyson, “Enid”, in Idylls of the King, London: Edward Moxon & Co., […], →OCLC, page 21:
glosses: To prepare; to set and furnish with provisions.
examples: text: This often sounds like the rap of a demented DJ: the way she moves has got to be good news, can't get loose till I feel the juice— suck and spread, bitch, yeah bounce for me baby.
ref: 1984, Martin Amis, Money:
text: Yes I wore a slinky red thing. Does that mean I should spread for you, your friends, your father, Mr Ed?
ref: 1991, Tori Amos, Me and a Gun:
text: I don't want to move too fast, but / Can't resist your sexy ass / Just spread, spread for me; / (I can't, I can't wait to get you home)
ref: 2003, Outkast, "Spread" (from the album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below)
glosses: To open one’s legs, especially for sexual favours.
Synonyms: disseminate
circulate
propagate
diffuse
put about