brede

Brede is a Dutch adjective meaning wide or broad. It is the inflected form of breed, used before a noun to describe its width or extent. In everyday language it appears in phrases such as de brede straat (the wide street) or een brede rivier (a wide river). Beyond physical width, brede can also be used metaphorically, for example to describe broad concepts or a wide range.

In Dutch grammar, brede functions as the attributive form before singular common nouns and appears in many common collocations. It can be preceded by a definite article, a demonstrative, or a possessive determiner, for example de brede straat, deze brede sabbat, mijn brede glimlach. The form is versatile and visible in both literal and figurative descriptions.

The comparative and superlative forms of breed are breder and breedste, used to compare widths or extents. For example, deze straat is breder dan die straat, en dit is de breedste route. The adjective is related to the noun breedte, which denotes width or breadth as a concept.

Etymology traces breed to older Germanic roots and relates to the English broad and the German breit. Related Dutch terms include breedte (width) and breedvoerig (broad, expansive in sense). The word is widely used in settings ranging from navigation and architecture to literature and everyday speech, reflecting its central role in describing physical and abstract breadth.