wide

Etymology

PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle English wid, wyd, from Old English wīd (“wide, vast, broad, long; distant, far”), from Proto-Germanic *wīdaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weydʰh₁- (“to separate, divide”), a dissimilated univerbation from *dwi- (“apart, asunder, in two”) + *dʰeh₁- (“to do, put, place”). Cognate with Scots wyd, wid (“of great extent; vast”), West Frisian wiid (“broad; wide”), Dutch wijd (“wide; large; broad”), German weit (“far; wide; broad”), Danish vid (“wide”), Swedish vid (“wide”), Icelandic víður (“wide”), Latin dīvidō (“separate, sunder”), Latin vītō (“avoid, shun”). Related to widow.

adj

1. Having a large physical extent from side to side.
   We walked down a wide corridor.
2. Large in scope.
   The single-imaging optic of the mammalian eye offers some distinct visual advantages. Such lenses can take in photons from a wide range of angles, increasing light sensitivity. They also have high spatial resolution, resolving incoming images in minute detail. 2013 July-August, Fenella Saunders, “Tiny Lenses See the Big Picture”, in American Scientist
   The inquiry had a wide remit.
3. (sports) Operating at the side of the playing area.
   That team needs a decent wide player.
4. On one side or the other of the mark; too far sideways from the mark, the wicket, the batsman, etc.
   Too bad! That was a great passing-shot, but it's wide.
   I was but two bows wide. 1656, Thomas Middleton, William Rowley, Philip Massinger, The Old Law
5. (phonetics, dated) Made, as a vowel, with a less tense, and more open and relaxed, condition of the organs in the mouth.
6. (Scotland, Northern England, now rare) Vast, great in extent, extensive.
   The wide, lifeless expanse.
7. (obsolete) Located some distance away; distant, far.
8. (obsolete) Far from truth, propriety, necessity, etc.
9. (computing) Of or supporting a greater range of text characters than can fit into the traditional 8-bit representation.
   a wide character; a wide stream
10. (Britain, slang) Antagonistic, shrewd, unscrupulous, provocative.
    But the first visitor to penetrate from the outside world proved to be Sergeant Williams; large and pink and scrubbed-looking; and for a little while Grant forgot about battles long ago and considered wide boys alive today. 1951, Josephine Tey, The Daughter of Time, page 31

adv

1. extensively
   He travelled far and wide.
2. completely
   He was wide awake.
3. away from or to one side of a given goal
   The arrow fell wide of the mark.
   A few shots were fired but they all went wide.
   The Reds carved the first opening of the second period as Glen Johnson's pull-back found David Ngog but the Frenchman hooked wide from six yards. December 29, 2010, Sam Sheringham, “Liverpool 0 - 1 Wolverhampton”, in BBC
4. So as to leave or have a great space between the sides; so as to form a large opening.

noun

1. (cricket) A ball that passes so far from the batsman that the umpire deems it unplayable; the arm signal used by an umpire to signal a wide; the extra run added to the batting side's score