abroad

Etymology

First attested in mid 13th century. From Middle English abrood (“broadly widely scattered”), from a- (“on, in”) + brood (“broad”). Equivalent to a- + broad.

adv

1. Beyond the bounds of a country; in foreign countries.
   A closer look at North Korean history reveals what Pyongyang’s leaders really want their near-farcical belligerence to achieve — a reminder to the world that North Korea exists, and an impression abroad that its leaders are irrational and unpredictable. April 9, 2013, Andrei Lankov, “Stay Cool. Call North Korea’s Bluff.”, in New York Times
   Another prince, deposed by the Revolution, was living abroad. 1848, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter XIV, in The History of England from the Accession of James II, volume 3
2. (dated) At large; widely; broadly; over a wide space.
   A tree spreads its branches abroad.
   Again: The lonely fox roams far abroad, / On ſecret rapine bend and midnight fraud; […] 1718, Matthew Prior, Solomon, and other Poems on several Occasions
3. (dated) Without a certain confine; outside the house; away from one's abode.
   I went to St. James', where another was preaching in the court abroad. p. 1650, John Evelyn, edited by William Bray, Diary, Frederic Warne and Company, published 1818, entry for 1650 July 7, page 207
   She spoke to Strickland in a language of her own, and whenever in her walks abroad she saw things calculated to destroy the peace of Her Majesty the Queen Empress, she returned to her master and gave him information. 1891, Rudyard Kipling, The Return of Imray
   Was it so irreconcilable, Warwick wondered, as still to peal out the curfew bell, which at nine o'clock at night had clamorously warned all negroes, slave or free, that it was unlawful for them to be abroad after that hour, under penalty of imprisonment or whipping? 1900, Charles W. Chesnutt, chapter 1, in The House Behind the Cedars
   There were very few people abroad and the two men standing quietly under a tree on the opposite side of the boulevard looked out of place. 1953, Ian Fleming, chapter 6, in Casino Royale, page 34
4. (dated) Before the public at large; throughout society or the world; here and there; moving without restriction.
   This Peece, or Schisme of Suicisme, and Selfishnesse, hath spawned most of the Heresies and Schismes, that are abroad in the World. 1654, Richard Whitlock, Zootomia; Or, Observations on the Present Manners of the English
5. Not on target; astray; in error; confused; dazed.
6. (sports) Played elsewhere than one's home grounds.

noun

1. (rare, Scotland) Countries or lands abroad.
   I hate abroad, abroad’s bloody. 1929, King George V, widely (and variously) quoted
   I am not, however, a xenophobe: obviously, abroad has some good ideas—arranged marriages, violent revolutions and so on. c. 1991, New Statesman & Society, volumes 3–4, page 180
   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. 2001 March 13, The Earl of Onslow, speaking in the House of Lords, quoted in Hansard

prep

1. Throughout, over.