Etymograph

English

abroad

Abroad comes from Middle English abrood ‘broadly widely scattered’.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500abrood1‘broadly widely scattered’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1611abroad1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English abroad
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “But he went out, and beganne to publish it…”.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500abroodWiktionary, English abroad‘broadly widely scattered’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1611abroadWiktionary, English abroad. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “But he went out, and beganne to publish it…”

first attested First attested in mid 13th century (as stated in Wiktionary’s etymology)

The story

First attested in mid 13th century.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

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Today it means

adv Beyond the bounds of a country; in foreign countries.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “abroad”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Middle English abrood / abroad