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”), Danish sprede (“to spread”), Norwegian spre, spreie (“to spread, disseminate”), Swedish sprida (“to spread”), Latin spernō, spargō, Ancient Greek σπείρω (speírō), Persian سپردن (sepordan, “to deposit”), English spurn.
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
To extend (individual rays, limbs etc.); to stretch out in varying or opposing directions. simple past and past participle of spread
I spread my arms wide and welcomed him home.
3
To disperse, to scatter or distribute over a given area.
I spread the rice grains evenly over the floor.
4
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 July 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, →ISBN, page 50:
1 more example
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 June 25, L.P. Dover, Going for the Hole, Books by L.P. Dover, LLC:
5
To disseminate; to cause to proliferate, to make (something) widely known or present.
The missionaries quickly spread their new message across the country.
6
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
To smear, to distribute in a thin layer.
She liked to spread butter on her toast while it was still hot.
8
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
And Enid brought sweet cakes to make them cheer, / And in her veil enfolded, manchet bread. / And then, because their hall must also serve / For kitchen, boil'd the flesh, and spread the board, / And stood behind, and waited on the three.1859, Alfred Tennyson, “Enid”, in Idylls of the King, London: Edward Moxon & Co., […], →OCLC, page 21:
10
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:
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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)
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”), Danish sprede (“to spread”), Norwegian spre, spreie (“to spread, disseminate”), Swedish sprida (“to spread”), Latin spernō, spargō, Ancient Greek σπείρω (speírō), Persian سپردن (sepordan, “to deposit”), English spurn.
No flower hath that kind of spread that the woodbine hath.1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC:
2
Something that has been spread.
3
Cartomancy, Human sciences, Mysticism, Philosophy, Sciences 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
Usually Any form of food designed to be spread, such as butters or jams.
Ferd liked to experiment with sandwich spreads ― the one he liked most was cream-cheese, olives, anchovy and avocado, mashed up with a little mayonnaise ― but Oscar always had the same pink luncheon-meat.1958 May, Avram Davidson, “Or All The Seas With Oysters”, in Galaxy Science Fiction:
9
Government, Military, Politics, War 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.2019 February 27, Drachinifel, 18:01 from the start, in The Battle of Samar - Odds? What are those?, archived from the original on 03 Nov 2022:
10
Slang 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
Mathematics, Sciences, Statistics A measure of how far the data tend to deviate from the average.
The spread is usually measured using standard deviation and variance.
15
Business, Economics, Sciences The difference between the wholesale and retail prices.
16
Business, Economics, Finance, Sciences, Trading The difference between the price of a futures month and the price of another month of the same commodity.
17
Business, Finance, Trading The purchase of a futures contract of one delivery month against the sale of another futures delivery month of the same commodity.
18
Business, Finance, Trading The purchase of one delivery month of one commodity against the sale of that same delivery month of a different commodity.
19
Business, Finance, Trading An arbitrage transaction of the same commodity in two markets, executed to take advantage of a profit from price discrepancies.
Business, Finance The difference between the prices of two similar items.
22
Geometry, Mathematics, Sciences An unlimited expanse of discontinuous points.
23
The surface in proportion to the depth of a cut gemstone.
24
Excessive width of the trails of ink written on overly absorbent paper.
25
Gambling, Games The difference between the teams' final scores at the end of a sport match.
College basketball games don't lack for gambling propositions—the moneyline, a straightforward wager on which team will win; the over-under gamble on the total number of points scored by both teams—but the most popular wager is the spread. The spread represents the predicted difference between the two teams in the final score of the game.2015 April 10, John Paul Rollert, “Vegas Odds”, in Harper's Magazine, New York, N.Y.: Harper's Magazine Foundation, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 20 Jan 2022:
To speedread; to recite one's arguments at an extremely fast pace.
You're assuming that if someone spreads they aren't a good orator. That's flawed logic.2022 July 8, u/chromantical, “spreading is cringe and should be stopped”, in Reddit, r/Debate, archived from the original on 17 Dec 2023:
In my first year on the circuit, I learned to spread and did decently well. I won most of my rounds, not that I could tell you how I did it.2022 September, Tess McNulty, “Both Sides Now”, in Harper's Magazine, New York, N.Y.: Harper's Magazine Foundation, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 23 Mar 2023:
spread
noun
Etymology Blend of speed + read.
1
An act or instance of spreading (speedreading).
If debate is a game, then the execution of a "spread" is like a well-timed blitz in football. Convincing a judge that your opponents' arguments would cause human extinction is equivalent to a successful Hail Mary pass.2017 September 26, Jack McCordick, “The Corrosion of High School Debate—And How It Mirrors American Politics”, in America, New York, N.Y.: America Press Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 21 Jun 2023:
It's one L ur chillin just keep practicing read the ballets figure what you did wrong and practice with improvements in mind, get better at spreads and k theory debates.2023 February 27, u/Objective-Sugar8720, “Bad tournament, how do I cope?”, in Reddit, r/Debate, archived from the original on 17 Dec 2023: