Wordsmith.org: the magic of words


A.Word.A.Day

About | Media | Search | Contact  


Home

Today's Word

Subscribe

Archives



Aug 15, 2024
This week’s theme
Coined words

This week’s words
grawlix
bardolatry
semelparous
broadbrow
topophilia

broadbrobroadbrow
Illustration: Anu Garg + AI

Bookmark and Share Facebook Twitter Digg MySpace Bookmark and Share
A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

broadbrow

PRONUNCIATION:
(BRAHD-brow)

MEANING:
noun: A person with a broad range of interests.
adjective: Appealing to people with a broad range of interests.

ETYMOLOGY:
Coined by J.B. Priestley (1894-1984), from broad + brow, on the pattern of highbrow and lowbrow. Earliest documented use: 1924. Also see middlebrow.

USAGE:
“The broadbrow books [my mother] most loved include Mary Webb’s Precious Bane, Jessamine West’s The Massacre at Fall Creek, and novels by Margaret Drabble, Alex Haley, James Michener, and Jean Plaidy.”
Helen Taylor; Why Women Read Fiction; Oxford University Press; 2019.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
There is no human being who, as a result of desiring to build a better life, should be named or declared illegal. -Alejandro G. Inarritu, film director, producer, screenwriter, and composer (b. 15 Aug 1963)

We need your help

Help us continue to spread the magic of words to readers everywhere

Donate

Subscriber Services
Awards | Stats | Links | Privacy Policy
Contribute | Advertise

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith