breed
/ˈbɹiːd/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.08 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To mate.
verb
To keep (animals) and have (them) reproduce in a way that improves the next generation's qualities.
Transitive verb
verb
To take care of in infancy and through childhood; to bring up.
Example Sentences
- "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."
- "A pond breeds fish."
- "A northern country breeds stout men."
- "Yet every mother breeds not sons alike."
- "She wanted to breed her cow to the neighbor's registered bull."
- "He tries to breed blue roses."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰreh₁-der. Proto-Indo-European *bʰroh₁tús Proto-Germanic *brōduz Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Germanic *-janą Proto-Germanic *brōdijaną Proto-West Germanic *brōdijan Old English brēdan Middle English breden English breed Inherited 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, Low German bröden, Dutch broeden, German brüten.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: breden, brēdan, *brōdijaną, *bʰreh₁-