bread
[bred] 
| 1. | a kind of food made of flour or meal that has been mixed with milk or water, made into a dough or batter, with or without yeast or other leavening agent, and baked. |
| 2. | food or sustenance; livelihood: to earn one's bread. |
| 3. | Slang. money. |
| 4. | Ecclesiastical. the wafer or bread used in a Eucharistic service. |
| 5. | Cookery. to cover with breadcrumbs or meal. |
| 6. | break bread,
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| 7. | cast one's bread upon the waters, to act generously or charitably with no thought of personal gain. |
| 8. | know which side one's bread is buttered on, to be aware of those things that are to one's own advantage. |
| 9. | take the bread out of someone's mouth, to deprive someone of livelihood. |
bef. 950; 1950–55 for def. 3; ME breed, OE brēad fragment, morsel, bread; c. G Brot
Related forms:
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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| bread (brěd) n.
To coat with bread crumbs, as before cooking: breaded the fish fillets. [Middle English, from Old English brēad; see bhreu- in Indo-European roots. N., sense 3b, possibly from Cockney rhyming slang bread and honey.] |
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Bread
Bread\, v. t. [AS. br[ae]dan to make broad, to spread. See Broad, a.] To spread. [Obs.] --Ray.Bread
Bread\, n. [AS. bre['a]d; akin to OFries. br[=a]d, OS. br?d, D. brood, G. brod, brot, Icel. brau?, Sw. & Dan. br["o]d. The root is probably that of E. brew. ? See Brew.]1. An article of food made from flour or meal by moistening, kneading, and baking. Note: Raised bread is made with yeast, salt, and sometimes a little butter or lard, and is mixed with warm milk or water to form the dough, which, after kneading, is given time to rise before baking. Cream of tartar bread is raised by the action of an alkaline carbonate or bicarbonate (as saleratus or ammonium bicarbonate) and cream of tartar (acid tartrate of potassium) or some acid. Unleavened bread is usually mixed with water and salt only. A["e]rated bread. See under A["e]rated. Bread and butter (fig.), means of living. Brown bread, Indian bread, Graham bread, Rye and Indian bread. See Brown bread, under Brown. Bread tree. See Breadfruit. 2. Food; sustenance; support of life, in general. Give us this day our daily bread. --Matt. vi. 11Bread
Bread\, v. t. (Cookery) To cover with bread crumbs, preparatory to cooking; as, breaded cutlets.Cite This Source
bread
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Bread
among the Jews was generally made of wheat (Ex. 29:2; Judg. 6:19), though also sometimes of other grains (Gen. 14:18; Judg. 7:13). Parched grain was sometimes used for food without any other preparation (Ruth 2:14). Bread was prepared by kneading in wooden bowls or "kneading troughs" (Gen. 18:6; Ex. 12:34; Jer. 7:18). The dough was mixed with leaven and made into thin cakes, round or oval, and then baked. The bread eaten at the Passover was always unleavened (Ex. 12:15-20; Deut. 16:3). In the towns there were public ovens, which were much made use of for baking bread; there were also bakers by trade (Hos. 7:4; Jer. 37:21). Their ovens were not unlike those of modern times. But sometimes the bread was baked by being placed on the ground that had been heated by a fire, and by covering it with the embers (1 Kings 19:6). This was probably the mode in which Sarah prepared bread on the occasion referred to in Gen. 18:6. In Lev. 2 there is an account of the different kinds of bread and cakes used by the Jews. (See BAKE.) The shew-bread (q.v.) consisted of twelve loaves of unleavened bread prepared and presented hot on the golden table every Sabbath. They were square or oblong, and represented the twelve tribes of Israel. The old loaves were removed every Sabbath, and were to be eaten only by the priests in the court of the sanctuary (Ex. 25:30; Lev. 24:8; 1 Sam. 21:1-6; Matt. 12:4). The word bread is used figuratively in such expressions as "bread of sorrows" (Ps. 127:2), "bread of tears" (80:5), i.e., sorrow and tears are like one's daily bread, they form so great a part in life. The bread of "wickedness" (Prov. 4:17) and "of deceit" (20:17) denote in like manner that wickedness and deceit are a part of the daily life.
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bread
In addition to the idioms beginning with bread, also see break bread; greatest thing since sliced bread; know which side of bread is buttered; take the bread out of someone's mouth.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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