different between broad vs improper

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English brood, brode, from Old English br?d (“broad, flat, open, extended, spacious, wide, ample, copious”), from Proto-Germanic *braidaz (“broad”), of uncertain origin. Cognate with Scots braid (“broad”), West Frisian breed (“broad”), Saterland Frisian breed (“broad”), Low German breed (“broad”), breet, Dutch breed (“broad”), German breit (“broad, wide”), Danish, Swedish and Norwegian Bokmål bred (“broad”), Norwegian brei (“broad”), Icelandic breiður (“broad, wide”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /b???d/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /b??d/
• (cot–caught merger, Canada) IPA^(key): /b??d/
• Rhymes: -??d

Adjective

broad (comparative broader, superlative broadest)

1. Wide in extent or scope.
2. Extended, in the sense of diffused; open; clear; full.
   • 1720, William Bartlet, a sermon

     broad and open day

   • May 12, 1860, Eliza Watson, Witches and witchcraft (in Once A Week, No. 46.)

     crushing the minds of its victims in the broad and open day

3. Having a large measure of any thing or quality; unlimited; unrestrained.

   • a broad mixture of falsehood

4. Comprehensive; liberal; enlarged.
   • 1819, D. Daggett, Sturges v. Crowninshield

     The words in the Constitution are broad enough to include the case.

   • 1859, Edward Everett, Daniel Webster: An Oration On the Occasion of the Dedication of the Statue of Mr. Webster,

     in a broad, statesmanlike, and masterly way

5. Plain; evident.

6. General rather than specific.

   to be in broad agreement

7. (writing) Unsubtle; obvious.
8. Free; unrestrained; unconfined.
9. (dated) Gross; coarse; indelicate.

10. (of an accent) Strongly regional.

11. (Gaelic languages) Velarized, i.e. not palatalized.

Antonyms

• (wide—regarding occupied space, width of an object): thin, narrow
• (wide—regarding body width): skinny
• (comprehensive): all-encompassing; see also Thesaurus:comprehensive
• (not palatalized): slender

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

broad (plural broads)

1. (Britain) A shallow lake, one of a number of bodies of water in eastern Norfolk and Suffolk.
2. A lathe tool for turning down the insides and bottoms of cylinders.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Knight to this entry?)

3. (Britain, historical) A British gold coin worth 20 shillings, issued by the Commonwealth of England in 1656.
4. (film, television) A kind of floodlight.
   • 1974, The Video Handbook (page 71)

     […] fresnel spotlights, old-type broads, sky-pans, cone-lights, etc.

   • 1976, Herbert Zettl, Television Production Handbook (volume 10, page 105)

     Some broads have barn doors (see page 115) to block gross light spill into other set areas; others have even an adjustable beam, […]

   • 2015, Jim Owens, Television Production (page 194)

     Light bounced from large white surfaces (e.g., matte reflector boards, or a white ceiling). Floodlights include scoops, broads, floodlight, banks, internally reflected units, strip lights, and cyclorama lights.

Derived terms

• Broadland (sense 1)
• Oulton Broad (sense 1)

Etymology 2

Early 20th century. Said to be from abroadwife (“woman who lives or travels without her husband”), though it might be in part an alteration of bride, especially through influence of cognate German Braut, which is used in the same sense of “broad, young woman, hussy”. Compare already Middle High German br?t (“concubine”).

Noun

broad (plural broads)

1. (dated) A prostitute, a woman of loose morals.
3. (US, colloquial, slang, sometimes dated, derogatory) A woman or girl.

   Who was that broad I saw you with?

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:prostitute
• See also Thesaurus:woman
• See also Thesaurus:girl

Translations

See also

• Appendix:Word formation verb -en noun -ness

Anagrams

• Bardo, Board, Borda, Broda, Dobra, abord, adorb, bardo, board, dobra

Breton

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

broad m (plural broiz)

1. person from a country

Inflection

Noun

broad f (plural broadoù)

1. nation

Inflection

Derived terms

• broadel

English

Alternative forms

• impropre (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle French impropre, from Latin improprius (“not proper”), from in- + proprius (“proper”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?m?p??p.?/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /?m?p??p.?/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?m?p??.p?/
• Rhymes: -?p?(?)

Adjective

improper (comparative more improper, superlative most improper)

1. unsuitable to needs or circumstances; inappropriate; inapt
2. Not in keeping with conventional mores or good manners; indecent or immodest
3. Not according to facts; inaccurate or erroneous
4. Not consistent with established facts; incorrect
5. Not properly named; See, for example, improper fraction
6. (obsolete) Not specific or appropriate to individuals; general; common.
   • 1608, John Fletcher The Faithful Shepherdess

     Not to be adorned with any art but such improper ones as nature is said to bestow, as singing and poetry.

Synonyms

• unproper (obsolete or rare)

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

improper (third-person singular simple present impropers, present participle impropering, simple past and past participle impropered)

1. (obsolete, transitive) To appropriate; to limit.
   • 1565, John Jewel, letter to Thomas Harding

     He would in like manner improper and inclose the sunbeams to comfort the rich and not the poor.

2. (obsolete) To behave improperly

Anagrams

• impropre