breiter

Breiter is a German adjective form that means wider or broader. It is the comparative of breit, used to express that one object or dimension has greater width than another. In sentences, breiter appears in comparisons and in phrases describing physical size.

Etymology and related forms: breit comes from older Germanic roots and is cognate with words in other Germanic languages that mean broad or wide. The comparative suffix -er is a common way German forms adjectives such as breiter from breit. Because German adjectives inflect for gender, number, and case, related forms such as breitere or breites may appear in different grammatical contexts.

Usage and examples: In everyday German, breiter is used to compare widths. For example, Der Fluss ist breiter als der Kanal. (The river is wider than the canal.) Eine breitere Straße kann den Verkehr besser aufnehmen. (A wider/broader street can handle more traffic.) In attributive use before a noun, the form changes with the article and gender (e.g., der breitere Weg, eine breitere Straße, ein breiter Gürtel).

Other uses: Breiter also exists as a surname in German-speaking regions. As a surname, it does not convey the meaning of width in itself but traces linguistic origins to the adjective breit.

See also: Breit, the positive form meaning wide or broad, and related German adjectives and their declensions. In other languages, equivalents include broad or wider, depending on the context.