spread

Meaning

Verb

1. (transitive) To stretch out, open out (a material etc.) so that it more fully covers a given area of space.
2. (transitive) To extend (individual rays, limbs etc.); to stretch out in varying or opposing directions. simple past and past participle of spread
3. (transitive) To disperse, to scatter or distribute over a given area.
4. (intransitive) To proliferate; to become more widely present, to be disseminated.
5. (transitive) To disseminate; to cause to proliferate, to make (something) widely known or present.
6. (intransitive) To take up a larger area or space; to expand, be extended.
7. (transitive) To smear, to distribute in a thin layer.
8. (transitive) To cover (something) with a thin layer of some substance, as of butter.
9. To prepare; to set and furnish with provisions.
10. (intransitive, slang) To open one’s legs, especially for sexual favours.

Noun

1. (countable, uncountable) The act of spreading.
2. (countable, uncountable) Something that has been spread.
3. (countable, uncountable) A layout, pattern or design of cards arranged for a reading.
4. (countable, uncountable) An expanse of land.
5. (countable, uncountable) A large tract of land used to raise livestock; a cattle ranch.
6. (countable, uncountable) A piece of material used as a cover (such as a bedspread).
7. (countable, uncountable) A large meal, especially one laid out on a table.
8. (countable, uncountable, usually) Any form of food designed to be spread, such as butters or jams.
9. (countable, uncountable) A set of multiple torpedoes launched on side-by-side, slowly-diverging paths toward one or more enemy ships.
10. (slang, uncountable) Food improvised by inmates from various ingredients to relieve the tedium of prison food.
11. (countable, uncountable) An item in a newspaper or magazine that occupies more than one column or page.
12. (countable, uncountable) Two facing pages in a book, newspaper etc.
13. (countable, uncountable) A numerical difference.
14. (countable, uncountable) A measure of how far the data tend to deviate from the average.
15. (countable, uncountable) The difference between the wholesale and retail prices.
16. (countable, uncountable) The difference between the price of a futures month and the price of another month of the same commodity.
17. (countable, uncountable) The purchase of a futures contract of one delivery month against the sale of another futures delivery month of the same commodity.
18. (countable, uncountable) The purchase of one delivery month of one commodity against the sale of that same delivery month of a different commodity.
19. (countable, uncountable) An arbitrage transaction of the same commodity in two markets, executed to take advantage of a profit from price discrepancies.
20. (countable, uncountable) The difference between bidding and asking price.
21. (countable, uncountable) The difference between the prices of two similar items.
22. (countable, uncountable) An unlimited expanse of discontinuous points.
23. (countable, uncountable) The surface in proportion to the depth of a cut gemstone.
24. (countable, uncountable) Excessive width of the trails of ink written on overly absorbent paper.
25. (countable, uncountable) The difference between the teams' final scores at the end of a sport match.

Noun

An act or instance of spreading (speedreading).

Synonyms

extend

scatter

stretch

expand

diffuse

disseminate

spread out

propagate

disperse

circulate

smear

spreading

unfold

open

apply

distribute

propagation

increase

broadcast

diffusion

strew

sprinkle

expansion

extended

extension

reach

cast

scattered

widen

grow

separate

overspread

pervade

cover

sow

lay out

paint

diffused

expanse

run

paste

unroll

go around

bedspread

emit

lay

stretch out

distribution

branch out

extent

Translations

étendre

répandre

étaler

extender

ausbreiten

espalhar

stendere

disperser

verspreiden

difundir

propager

se répandre

diffondere

verbreiten

s’étendre

Pronounced as (IPA)

/spɹɛd/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: spreden

Inherited from Old English: sprǣdan

Cognate with Saterland Frisian: spreede

Cognate with Western Frisian: spriede

Cognate with Northern Frisian: spriedjen

Cognate with Dutch: spreiden

Cognate with Low German: spreden

Cognate with German: spreiten

Cognate with Norwegian: spre

Cognate with Swedish: sprida

Cognate with Latin: spernō

Cognate with Ancient Greek: σπείρω

Cognate with Persian: سپردن

Cognate with English: spurn

In summary

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.

Sentences

The " Daily " was instrumental in the spread of the Paul is dead urban legend .

This suggests that evolution and spread occurred simultaneously within various lineages .