English Online Dictionary. What means abroad? What does abroad mean?
English
Alternative forms
- abrode (obsolete)
- overbroad (obsolete)
Etymology
First attested in mid 13th century. From Middle English abrood (“broadly widely scattered”), from a- (“on, in”) + brood (“broad”). Equivalent to a- + broad.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /əˈbɹɔːd/
- (US) IPA(key): /əˈbɹɔd/
- (cot–caught merger) IPA(key): /əˈbɹɑd/
- Rhymes: -ɔːd
Adverb
abroad (not comparable)
- Beyond the bounds of a country; in foreign countries. [from 1350–1470]
- (dated) At large; widely; broadly; over a wide space. [from 1150–1350]
- (dated) Without a certain confine; outside the house; away from one's abode. [from 1150–1350)]
- (dated) Before the public at large; throughout society or the world; here and there; moving without restriction. [from late 15th c.]
- Not on target; astray; in error; confused; dazed. [from early 19th c.]
- (sports) Played elsewhere than one's home grounds.
Derived terms
Translations
Noun
abroad
- (rare, Scotland) Countries or lands abroad. [First attested in the mid 19th century.]
- 1929, King George V, widely (and variously) quoted:
- I hate abroad, abroad’s bloody.
- 2001 March 13, The Earl of Onslow, speaking in the House of Lords, quoted in Hansard:
- That is not a xenophobic remark. I am a xenophiliac; I love abroad. I love foreigners. I just do not like the way that they are running the European agricultural policy.
- 1929, King George V, widely (and variously) quoted:
Derived terms
- near abroad
Translations
Preposition
abroad
- Throughout, over.
Translations
Adjective
abroad (not comparable)
- (nonstandard, chiefly non-native speakers' English) International.
References
- "Now abroad has entered English as a noun" - The New York Times, "ON LANGUAGE; The Near Abroad", William Safire, May 22, 1994, quoting Christian Caryl
Anagrams
- A board, Baroda, aboard, aborad