spread

Etymology

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”), Norwegian spre, spreie (“to spread, disseminate”), Swedish sprida (“to spread”), Latin spernō, spargō, Ancient Greek σπείρω (speírō), Persian سپردن (sepordan, “to deposit”), English spurn.

verb

1. (transitive) To stretch out, open out (a material etc.) so that it more fully covers a given area of space.
   He spread his newspaper on the table.
2. (transitive) To extend (individual rays, limbs etc.); to stretch out in varying or opposing directions.
   I spread my arms wide and welcomed him home.
3. (transitive) To disperse, to scatter or distribute over a given area.
   I spread the rice grains evenly over the floor.
4. (intransitive) To proliferate; to become more widely present, to be disseminated.
   Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine.[…]One thing that is true, though, is that murder rates have fallen over the centuries, as policing has spread and the routine carrying of weapons has diminished. Modern society may not have done anything about war. But peace is a lot more peaceful. 2013-07-20, “Old soldiers?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845
   As the Erzurum affair indicated, the janissaries in the provinces and in the capital city were in close touch, and thus the movements were quick to spread to Istanbul. 2018, Pál Fodor, The Business of State. Ottoman Finance Administration and Ruling Elites in Transition (1580s–1615) (Studien zur Sprache, Geschichte und Kultur der Turkvölker; 28), Berlin: Klaus Schwarz Verlag × De Gruyter, published 2020, →DOI, page 50
   I placed my hands on his cheeks, and this time, I kissed him. “Don't worry, I'm not going to let anything spoil our day. It's just you and me.” A sad smile spread across his face, and I could tell he wanted to believe me, but didn't. 2018-06-25, L.P. Dover, Going for the Hole, Books by L.P. Dover, LLC
5. (transitive) To disseminate; to cause to proliferate, to make (something) widely known or present.
   The missionaries quickly spread their new message across the country.
6. (intransitive) To take up a larger area or space; to expand, be extended.
   I dropped my glass; the water spread quickly over the tiled floor.
7. (transitive) To smear, to distribute in a thin layer.
   She liked to spread butter on her toast while it was still hot.
8. (transitive) To cover (something) with a thin layer of some substance, as of butter.
   He always spreads his toast with peanut butter and strawberry jam.
9. To prepare; to set and furnish with provisions.
   to spread a table
10. (intransitive, slang) To open one’s legs, especially for sexual favours.
    This often sounds like the rap of a demented DJ: the way she moves has got to be good news, can't get loose till I feel the juice— suck and spread, bitch, yeah bounce for me baby. 1984, Martin Amis, Money
    Yes I wore a slinky red thing. Does that mean I should spread for you, your friends, your father, Mr Ed? 1991, Tori Amos, Me and a Gun
    I don't want to move too fast, but / Can't resist your sexy ass / Just spread, spread for me; / (I can't, I can't wait to get you home) 2003, Outkast, "Spread" (from the album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below)

noun

1. The act of spreading.
2. Something that has been spread.
3. (cartomancy) A layout, pattern or design of cards arranged for a reading.
4. An expanse of land.
   November 29, 1712, Andrew Freeport, a letter to The Spectator I have got a fine spread of improvable lands.
5. A large tract of land used to raise livestock; a cattle ranch.
   - Can't wait till I get my own spread and won't have to put up with Joe Aguirre's crap no more. 2005, Brokeback Mountain (film), 00:11:50
6. A piece of material used as a cover (such as a bedspread).
   Linen shawls and spreads show up in secondhand clothing stores like those in the row on St. Marks Place in New York City. 1975, Douglas Matthews, Suzanne Wymelenberg, Susan Cheever Cowley, Secondhand is Better, page 166
7. A large meal, especially one laid out on a table.
8. (bread, etc.) Any form of food designed to be spread, such as butters or jams.
9. (military) A set of multiple torpedoes launched on side-by-side, slowly-diverging paths toward one or more enemy ships.
   Johnston, meanwhile, has managed to get within five miles of its target, and fires a full spread of ten torpedoes. Minutes later, at least two, possibly three, tear the bow off the hapless cruiser Kumano. First blood, unbelievably, therefore, goes to the Americans. 27 February 2019, Drachinifel, 18:01 from the start, in The Battle of Samar - Odds? What are those?, archived from the original on 2022-11-03
10. (prison slang, uncountable) Food improvised by inmates from various ingredients to relieve the tedium of prison food.
11. An item in a newspaper or magazine that occupies more than one column or page.
12. Two facing pages in a book, newspaper etc.
13. A numerical difference.
14. (business, economics) The difference between the wholesale and retail prices.
15. (trading, economics, finance) The difference between the price of a futures month and the price of another month of the same commodity.
16. (trading, finance) The purchase of a futures contract of one delivery month against the sale of another futures delivery month of the same commodity.
17. (trading, finance) The purchase of one delivery month of one commodity against the sale of that same delivery month of a different commodity.
18. (trading) An arbitrage transaction of the same commodity in two markets, executed to take advantage of a profit from price discrepancies.
19. (trading) The difference between bidding and asking price.
20. (finance) The difference between the prices of two similar items.
21. (geometry) An unlimited expanse of discontinuous points.
22. The surface in proportion to the depth of a cut gemstone.
23. Excessive width of the trails of ink written on overly absorbent paper.