brokenadj.
/ˈbrəʊk(ə)n/, U.S. /ˈbroʊkən/ Used adjectively in many of the senses of the verb; esp. the following:† 15. Of music: (a) arranged for different instruments, ‘part’ (music); concerted (obsolete) (Shakespeare apparently played upon the phrase); (b) (cf. sense 12b).
1. † c. figurative. Dissolved. Obsolete.
a. Separated forcibly into parts; in fragments; in pieces. (The resulting damaged state is often the main notion.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > breaking or cracking > [adjective] > broken
broken1383
bursted1527
pipped1540
fract1547
fracted1547
cracked1562
infract1593
fractured1617
broke1647
confragosea1684
staved1699
burst1812
bashed1830
snapped1869
737 Chart. Æðelhard in Cod. Dipl. V. 45 To brocenan beorge.]
1383 J. Wyclif Isa. xxxvi. 6 Lo! thou tristist on this brokun staf.
a1500 Lancelot of Laik (1870) 239 The tronsione of o brokine sper.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms xxx[i]. 12 I am become like a broken vessell.
1633 Bp. J. Hall Occas. Medit. (ed. 3) §cx A thinne, uncovered roofe..darke and broken windowes.
1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 58 Three broken Oars.
1831 H. T. De la Beche Geol. Man. iv. 194 Polypifers occur..rolled and broken, as on an ancient coast.
1868 J. H. Blunt Reformation Church of Eng. I. 327 A few broken walls and the roofless, unglazed churches.
b. broken bread, broken meat, broken victuals, etc.: fragments of food left after a meal, etc.; by extension applied to remnants of drink, as broken ale, broken beer.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food otherwise characterized > [noun] > left-over food
reliefc1300
ortc1325
broken meatc1384
scrapsa1387
reversionc1450
remissalsc1460
superfluities1483
levet1528
sheet-shaking1543
table crumb1566
relics1576
off-falling1607
analects1623
voiding1680
voidance1740
leftover1866
pot-washings1912
slarts1913
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Mark viii. 20 How many leepis of brokene mete ȝe token vp?
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 201/2 Broken meat, fragments.
1591 R. Percyvall Bibliotheca Hispanica Dict. at Escurriduras The dropping of a cup, broken drinke, reliquiæ.
1594 H. Plat Jewell House 13 Others doe soke chippings and other crustes of bread in broken beere.
1639 T. de Gray Compl. Horseman ii. vi. 112 Wash the places with broken Beere.
1675 T. Hobbes tr. Homer Odysses 203 With broken meat and wine himself to feed.
1876 M. E. Braddon Joshua Haggard's Daughter II. 15 No sign of unwashed tea-things or broken victuals.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social relations > lack of social communication or relations > separation or isolation > [adjective] > dissolved
broken1538
1538 H. Latimer Let. 17 June in Serm. & Remains (1845) (modernized text) II. 397 Graciously to remember them with some piece of some broken abbey.
d. In paper-making, seriously damaged, denoting a quality of defective paper inferior to retree.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > material for making paper > paper > [adjective] > damaged or flawed
broken1807
water-galled1831
broke1888
M1894
1807 in Ure Dict. Arts (1839) 932 The quantity of broken paper and retree is almost nothing compared with what is made at the vats.
1880 J. Dunbar Pract. Papermaker 48 This method..saves broken [paper], and can be worked so near the edge that the impression is taken off at the cutter.
1907 C. F. Cross & E. J. Bevan Text-bk. Paper-making (ed. 3) v. 150 The fibres of the broken paper are..separated.
e. Phonetics. Subjected to breaking (see breaking n. 1e).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > sound changes > [adjective] > fracture
broken1845
1845 J. M. Kemble in Proc. Philol. Soc. II. 135 A tendency in the vowel to become dulled or broken when placed in particular positions.
1887 W. W. Skeat Princ. Eng. Etymol. 45 The symbol ea denotes that the vowel was, to speak technically, ‘broken’, i.e. was resolved into the diphthong e-a.
f. broken (over): in bookbinding, applied to the creasing down of a small part of an inserted print near the binding margin, for the purpose of giving support to the binding thread.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > book > manufacture or production of books > book-binding > [adjective] > other processes
broken (over)1879
unploughed1886
1879 J. W. Zaehnsdorf Art of Bookbinding 169 Broken over. When plates are turned over or folded a short distance from the back edge, before they are placed in the volume, so as to facilitate their being turned easily or laid flat, they are said to be broken over. When a leaf has been turned down the paper is broken.
g. Of a bird: shot down or killed in accordance with the rules, in trap-shooting.
ΚΠ
1892 W. W. Greener Breech-loader 261 Judges..shall raise the red flag to indicate a ‘broken’ bird.
2. Rent, ruptured, torn, burst.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > tearing or tearing apart > [adjective] > torn or torn apart
betorna1300
forpinchedc1325
torn1362
broken1377
tatteringc1380
renta1382
fortorn1496
lacerate1514
lacerated1556
rented1559
rived1581
dilaniated1597
dilacerate1602
discerpted1607
berent1608
rended1612
breacheda1649
dilacerated1650
vultured1946
1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. v. 108 Þat bar[en] awey my bolle and my broke [v.r. broken] schete.
1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. ix. 91 He..biddeth þe begger go for his broke clothes.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Jer. ii. 13 Vile and broken pittes, that holde no water.
1587 A. Fleming et al. Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) III. 845/1 Old hosen, broken shooes.
1641 Rastell's Termes de la Ley (new ed.) f. 43v Old and broken apparell.
1762 O. Goldsmith Citizen of World I. 118 His..dirty shirt, and broken silk stockings.
3. Of organic structures:
a. Having the bone fractured.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > injury > [adjective] > other injuries
crippid1382
brokena1400
bobbed1573
winged1789
self-inflicted1885
vaccine-damaged1973
Tasered1976
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > diseases of tissue > disorders of bones > [adjective] > fractures
brokena1400
bursted1527
comminuted1790
camerated1801
greenstick1850
impacted1850
spiral1897
busted1929
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) l. 8087 Wiþ crumpeled knees and brokin bak [Vesp. boce on bak].
a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) i. i. 121 Hee that escapes me without some broken limbe. View more context for this quotation
b. Having the surface ruptured.
ΚΠ
1550 J. Heywood Hundred Epigrammes lxix. sig. Ciii Broken head, breke necke falls, of both I am sped.
1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 433. ¶6 They often came from the Council Table with broken Shins.
1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. at Broken Among horse-jockies, broken knees are a mark of a stumbler.
4. Shattered; said of water whose coherence as a mass has been destroyed by striking against an object, or whose surface is broken.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > body of water > moving water > [adjective] > agitated
troublous1482
troublesome1560
broken1793
1793 J. Smeaton Narr. Edystone Lighthouse (ed. 2) §271 Sufficiently strong to resist the falling broken water.
1804 A. Duncan Mariner's Chron. II. 77 A dreadful, hollow, broken sea.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Broken Water, the contention of currents in a narrow channel. Also, the waves breaking on and near shallows.
1874 F. G. D. Bedford Sailor's Pocket Bk. vi. 172 In a boat outside the broken water.
5. Crushed or exhausted by labour, etc.; with strength or power gone; enfeebled.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > weariness or exhaustion > [adjective] > esp. through labour
forswunka1250
forwroughtc1400
forlaboured1483
broken1490
forespent1563
fortoiled1567
toiled1574
overtoiled?1577
over-laboured1579
back-broken1603
moiled1618
swinked1637
overwrought1648
overtaxed1650
toil-worn1752
used up1823
overworked1830
beat1832
dead-beaten1854
1490 W. Caxton tr. Eneydos xxxi. 117 The ladyes were sore wery and broken of theyre longe vyage.
1577 R. Holinshed Hist. Eng. 237/2 in Chron. I The olde broken yeares of mans life.
1615 G. Sandys Relation of Journey 118 Such a number of broken persons..by reason of their strong labour and weake foode.
1757 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 7 July (1967) III. 131 Sir Charles Williams, who I hear is much broken both in his spirits and Constitution.
1864 Ld. Tennyson Enoch Arden in Enoch Arden, etc. 38 Enoch was so brown, so bow'd, So broken.
6. Crushed in feelings by misfortune, remorse, etc.; subdued, humbled, contrite.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > humility > humiliation > [adjective]
dejectc1528
broken1535
abased1554
come1564
downfallen1575
snubbed1583
crestfallen1589
humiliate1593
plume-plucked1597
low-broughta1599
chop-fallen1604
chap-fallen1608
dejected1608
humbleda1616
unprided1628
diminished1667
mortified1710
small1771
humiliated1782
squelched1837
grovelleda1845
sat-upon1873
comedown1886
deflated1894
zapped1962
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms l[i]. 17 A broken and a contrite hert (o God) shalt thou not despise.
1642 D. Rogers Naaman 61 Try whether..your selves grow daily lowlier, meeker, brokenner.
1652 M. Nedham tr. J. Selden Of Dominion of Sea 68 The King's courage was so broken.
a1718 W. Penn Life in Wks. (1726) I. 100 She was exceedingly broken, and took an Affectionate and Reverent Leave of us.
1834 T. Carlyle Sartor Resartus ii. vii. 60/2 How beautiful to die of broken-heart, on Paper!
1858 F. W. Robertson Lect. 269 Happy is the man not thoroughly broken by disappointment.
7. Reduced or shattered in worldly estate, financially ruined; having failed in business, bankrupt.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > poverty > [adjective] > poor > reduced to poverty
broken-fortuned1362
depauperatea1464
peeled?a1513
extenuate1533
withered1561
penured1570
low-ebbed1595
ruined1596
shredded1596
broken1597
beggared1609
impoverisheda1631
necessitated1646
pinched1672
crazy1700
reduced1715
straitened1716
crazed1732
poverty-struck?1750
poverty-stricken?1786
pauperized1807
poverty-smitten1819
distressed1844
out at elbows1885
poverished1900
wiped1977
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II ii. i. 258 The King growen banckrout like a broken man.
1602 T. Fitzherbert Apol. 19 Cradock had byn a broken Merchant about Italie.
1714 T. Ellwood Hist. Life (1765) 257 He might thereby repair his broken fortunes.
1753 S. Richardson Hist. Sir Charles Grandison (1781) VI. i. 7 There may be many ways..of providing for a broken tradesman.
1863 ‘G. Eliot’ Romola I. xvi. 272 To mend the broken fortunes of his ancient family.
8. Reduced to obedience or discipline, tamed, trained. Often with in.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > animal keeping practices general > [adjective] > tamed or trained
tamec888
mildOE
meekc1175
unwilda1400
chastisedc1440
reclaimed1440
made1474
familiar1483
gentle?1531
domestical1562
inward1575
inwards1575
housal1611
domestic1620
cicurated1646
domiciliated1782
domesticated1802
broken1805
hand-tamed1932
1805 R. Southey Madoc ii. iii. 207 The Elk and Bison, broken to the yoke.
1844 Queen's Regulations & Orders Army 380 A Horse..notified..to be properly broken.
1861 F. T. Palgrave Golden Treasury 308 A language hardly yet broken in to verse.
9. Violated, transgressed, not kept intact.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > agreement > observance > non-observance or breach > [adjective] > not observed
violatec1425
violated1541
broken1600
infringed1771
1600 R. Armin Foole vpon Foole sig. B4v A broken Virgin, one that had had a barne.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 144 The sign Of Cov'nants broke. View more context for this quotation
1831 T. Campbell in Metropolitan July 219 This broken faith Has robb'd you more of Fame.
a1840 C. H. Bateman Hymn ‘Glory, glory, glory’, When mercy healed the broken law.
1878 J. Morley Diderot I. 274 The broken oaths of old days.
10. Having the ranks broken; routed, dispersed.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > defeat > [adjective] > put to flight
routed1623
broken1810
1810 W. Scott Lady of Lake i. 41 Now leader of a broken host.
1847 W. H. Prescott Hist. Conquest Peru II. iv. v. 172 The governor despised the broken followers of Almagro.
11. Having continuity or uniformity interrupted.
a. of a line: Abruptly altered in direction; turned off at an angle.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > angularity > [adjective] > turned or bent at an angle > specifically of a line
broken1721
1721 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. Broken Radiation is the breaking of the Beams of Light, as seen through a Glass.
1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. Broken Ray, in dioptrics, the same with ray of refraction.
1828 W. Kirby & W. Spence Introd. Entomol. III. xxxii. 319 The antennæ..broken (viz. when the main body of the antenna forms an angle with the first joints).
b. of the surface of ground, etc.: Intersected with ravines or valleys; uneven. Also, broken up, ploughed, stripped of turf.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > ground > [adjective] > rough
sharpc893
roughOE
foec1400
rupt?a1425
aspera1492
scragged1519
smarta1525
ruggeda1533
crabbed1579
broken1599
tutty-nosed1681
ruggish1838
1599 J. Welsh in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (new ed.) II. ii. 131 Betweene them both broken ground.
1782 W. Gilpin Observ. River Wye (1789) 21 By broken ground we mean such as hath lost it's turf, and discovers the naked soil.
1827 B. Disraeli Vivian Grey V. viii. iv. 281 An open, but broken country.
1878 R. B. Smith Carthage 112 The Carthaginian cavalry and elephants extricated themselves..from the broken ground.
c. of states or conditions: Interrupted, disturbed.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > [adjective] > type of sleep > disturbed or broken
unsound1584
broken1712
startling1718
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > continuity or uninterruptedness > discontinuity or interrupted condition > [adjective] > interrupted
interrupt1412
interrupted1552
intermitted1557
interruptive1643
broken1712
1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 317. ¶21 Broken Sleep.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 430 His rest that night was broken.
d. of weather: Unsettled, uncertain.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > [adjective] > changeable
variable1509
unsettled1707
catchy1784
broken1793
1793 J. Smeaton Narr. Edystone Lighthouse (ed. 2) §275 The weather continued broken till Saturday.
e. Horticulture. Of a breeder tulip: that has developed into a striped or variegated flower. (See break v. 32c.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > flower or part containing reproductive organs > flower or flowering plant > [adjective] > having flowers or blossom > with specific colouring or marking
blue-flowered1597
red-flowered1629
blue-mantleda1650
rectified1665
well-broke1687
guarded1688
run1725
broken1731
pheasant-eyed1731
red-flowering1731
bizarre1753
run-off1810
unveined1826
self1833
limbate1866
chloranthous1871
albiflorous1879
laced1882
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [adjective] > of or having lilies > of tulips
flamed1665
tulip-like?1711
broken1731
Rembrandt1829
1724 P. Miller Gardeners & Florists Dict. II. TU 32 Some Tulips that have been already broke, or have come to stripe, do one Year abound in the dark Colours, and come finely mark'd the next Year.]
1731 P. Miller Gardeners Dict. I. 8 D/1 If one of these Flowers [sc. tulips] is quite broken..it will never lose its Stripes.
1824 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Gardening (ed. 2) iii. ii. 832 Save seed from these in preference to the finest of the variegated or broken sorts [of tulips].
1852 G. W. Johnson Cottage Gardeners' Dict. 894/2 After some years the petals of these [sc. tulips] become striped, and they are then said to be broken.
1956 Dict. Gardening (Royal Hort. Soc.) (ed. 2) IV. 2162/1 Each group of broken Tulips..is subdivided according to the colouring and ground.
12.
a. Fragmentary, disconnected, disjointed, in patches.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > [adjective] > disjoining or disconnecting > disjoined, disunited, or disconnected
disjointc1420
sejointc1440
dissolute?1541
unjointed1561
disunited1562
disjoined1591
disjunct1599
disjointeda1643
disunite1642
disjuncted1657
unmortised1736
broken1819
disarticulated1834
disc1916
1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe I. i. 7 Here the red rays of the sun shot a broken and discoloured light.
1845 C. Darwin Jrnl. (ed. 2) xi. 249 On the two great continents in the northern hemisphere, (but not in the broken land of Europe between them).
1849 J. Ruskin Seven Lamps Archit. vi. 162 Broken masses of pine forest.
b. of time: Interrupted; ‘odd’.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > frequency > infrequency > [adjective] > intermittent or irregular
chopping1483
wavering1488
interpolate1547
suspensive1575
off and on1583
remitting1583
intermissive1586
fluttering1590
aguisha1602
intermittent1603
irregular1608
broken1629
intermitting1643
serratile1707
serrine1707
scattering1709
serratic1753
now-and-then1762
remittent1791
fitful1810
non-periodic1836
spasmodic1837
startful1837
interlusory1853
heterochronic1854
heterochronous1854
between-whiles1859
snatchy1861
sporadic1861
spasmodical1864
catchy1869
pauseful1877
aperiodic1879
scratchy1881
nervy1884
spurty1894
off-again on-again1923
on-again off-again1946
on-off1949
1629 F. Quarles Argalus & Parthenia To Rdr. sig. A3 The fruits of broken houres.
1667 S. Pepys Diary 20 May (1974) VIII. 224 It being a broken day, did walk abroad.
1754 Earl of Chatham Lett. to Nephew (1804) iii. 16 Mr. Addison's papers, to be read very frequently at broken times.
1827 J. C. Hare & A. W. Hare Guesses at Truth I. 148 It would have made a broken week of it.
c. of sound, voice, and the like: Uttered disjointedly, ejaculated, interrupted.
ΚΠ
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 307/1 Brokyn as ones speche is, abrupt.
1609 Bible (Douay) I. Num. ix. 5 If the trumpeting sound in length and with a broken tune.
1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 259 He repeated it in the..same broken Words.
1731 A. Pope Epist. to Earl of Burlington 11 Light Quirks of Musick, broken and uneven.
1802 E. Forster tr. Arab. Nights IV. 269 Her voice much broken with sobs.
1886 R. L. Stevenson Strange Case Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde 25 He spoke with a husky, whispering and somewhat broken voice.
d. of language: Imperfectly spoken, with the syntax incomplete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > inaccuracy, inexactness > incorrectness of language > [adjective]
foula1400
unproperc1443
bada1522
tarry1579
vicious1589
brokena1616
tortious1644
solecistical1654
unlawful1729
solecistic1806
unidiomatica1822
anidiomatical1826
murdered1876
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) v. ii. 243 Breake thy minde to me in broken English. View more context for this quotation
1685 London Gaz. No. 2093/4 A Frenchman..speaks broken English and Dutch.
1811 M. R. Mitford Let. 29 Aug. in A. G. L'Estrange Life M. R. Mitford (1870) I. v. 154 Four letters of Mr. Klopstock in broken English.
13.
a. Produced by breaking, severed.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > breaking or cracking > [adjective] > broken > produced by breaking
brokenc1200
c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 93 Þe brokene boȝes.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Acts xxvii. E On broken peces of the shippe [so 1611].
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. §9. 61 Broken fragments of rock.
b. Not whole in amount; fractional; not ‘round’.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > ratio or proportion > fraction > [adjective]
broken1609
fractional1675
fracteda1690
fract1715
1609 Accts. St. John's Hosp., Canterbury (Canterbury Cathedral Archives: CCA-U13/5) Rec. of the deathe of brother Barton and syster Brooke for broken wages vs.
1868 H. H. Milman Ann. St. Paul's Cathedral vii. 153 In one month..it yielded no less than £50 besides broken money.
c. Incomplete; fragmentary; imperfect.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > [adjective]
halfa1300
brokec1380
incompletec1380
imperfecta1398
infecta1398
unperfecta1398
uncompletec1430
unfullc1450
partile1576
unentire?1605
half-faced1607
fragmentary1612
broken1634
partiary1654
fractional1675
fractionarya1690
half-way1694
fragmentala1763
half-and-half1796
fragmentitious1827
incompleted1836
sectional1848
mincemeaty1870
1634 J. Canne Necessitie of Separation iii. 151 Such broken stuffe, not worthy of any answere.
1656 T. Burton Diary (1828) I. 81 There may be a broken title.
1669 T. Gale Court of Gentiles: Pt. I i. Introd. 6 Broken Traditions.
1813 Ld. Byron Giaour 40 This broken tale was all we knew.
14. Of colours: Qualified or reduced in tone by the addition of some other colour or colours.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > quality of colour > [adjective] > toned down
degraded1877
broken1882
1882 Printing Times Feb. 35/1 Another way of regarding the tertiary colours is to contemplate them as broken hues, that is, colours degraded by the addition of their complementaries. Looked at thus, olive is a broken blue.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > type of music > [adjective] > in parts
broken1609
four-part1664
in terza1724
concerted1824
two-part1854
1597 T. Morley Plaine & Easie Introd. Musicke 97 (margin) The plainsong of the Hymne Saluator mundi, broken in diuision, and brought in a Canon of thre parts in one, by Osbert Parsley.]
1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida iii. i. 49 Pan...what musicke is this? Man. I do but partly know sir, it is musick in partes... Pan...Faire Prince here is good broken musicke.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) v. ii. 241 Come your Answer in broken Musick; for thy Voyce is Musick, and thy English broken. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) i. ii. 131 To see this broken Musicke in his sides. View more context for this quotation
1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) xxxvii. 223 The Song be in Quire, placed aloft, and accompanied with some broken Musicke.
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §278 So likewise, in that music which we call broken-music or consort-music, some consorts of instruments are sweeter than others.
Compounds
C1. With adverbs: see combinations of break v.
a.
broken-in adj.
ΚΠ
1837 F. Marryat Olla Podrida xxxiv, in Metrop. Mag. Broke-in horses.
broken-off adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > separation or detachment > [adjective] > broken off
effracted1657
broken-off1876
1876 ‘G. Eliot’ Daniel Deronda IV. vii. lv. 131 This broken-off fragment.
broken-up adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > farm > farmland > land suitable for cultivation > [adjective] > broken
broken-up1637
1637 in Cambridge Reg. Bk. Lands (1896) 42 20 ac[res] of broken upp grounde..& 25 ac[res] unbroken upp lying by it.
1684 in Hist. Coll. Essex Inst. (1862) IV. 68/2 He should have liberty to make use of part of ye improved & broken up ground upon ye sd ffarme.
1846 J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) II. 247 Winter potatoes on broken up grass land.
b.
broken-down adj. (a) reduced to atoms, decomposed; (b) decayed, ruined; whose health, strength, character, etc. has given way; (c) having ceased to function (cf. to break down 4 at break v. Phrasal verbs).
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > [adjective] > in state of ill health or diseased
untrumc825
sickc888
unwholec888
slackc897
unstronga900
sicklea1000
sam-halea1023
worseOE
attaint1303
languishinga1325
heallessc1374
sicklyc1374
sicklewa1387
bada1393
mishalea1400
languoring?c1425
distempered1440
unwell?c1450
detent?a1475
poora1475
languorousc1475
maladif1481
illa1500
maladiousc1500
wanthriven1508
attainted1509
unsound1513
acrazed1521
cracked1527
unsoundya1529
visited1537
infirmed1552
crazed1555
healthless1568
ill-liking1572
afflicted1574
crazy1576
unhealthful1580
sickish1581
valetudinary1581
not well1587
fainty1590
ill-disposed1596
unhealthsome1598
tainted1600
ill-affected1604
peaking1611
unhealthy1611
infirmited1616
disaffected1626
physical1633
illish1637
pimping1640
invalid1642
misaffected1645
valetudinarious1648
unhale1653
badly1654
unwholesome1655
valetudinous1655
morbulent1656
off the hooksa1658
mawkish1668
morbid1668
unthriven1680
unsane1690
ailing1716
not wellish1737
underlya1742
poorly1750
indifferent1753
comical1755
maladized1790
sober1808
sickened1815
broken-down1816
peaky1821
poorlyish1827
souffrante1827
run-down1831
sicklied1835
addle1844
shaky1844
mean1845
dauncy1846
stricken1846
peakyish1853
po'ly1860
pindling1861
rough1882
rocky1883
suffering1885
wabbit1895
icky-boo1920
like death warmed up1924
icky1938
ropy1945
crappy1956
hanging1971
sick as a parrot1982
shite1987
the world > matter > condition of matter > bad condition of matter > [adjective] > dilapidated or ruinous
brychec1000
forcrazedc1320
falling-downc1384
ruinousc1384
forwordenc1450
ruin1467
failed1490
ruinatea1538
ruinated1555
ruined1560
ragged1565
dilapidate1590
through-shot1596
tattered1599
tottered1615
dilapidateda1806
delabrated1813
broken-down1816
tumble-down1819
run-down1832
tumblyc1855
raggedy1921
shot through1926
shot to hell or pieces1926
raddled1949
the world > action or operation > adversity > [adjective] > falling from prosperous or thriving condition > having fallen
forlornc1386
fallen1550
ruinous1558
ruinate1562
declined1591
ruinated1592
ruined1596
lapsed1667
prolapsed1698
broken-down1816
decadent1837
the world > action or operation > failure or lack of success > [adjective] > failing > of machinery, etc.
broken-down1816
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > [adjective] > unserviceable > by having ceased to function
broken-down1816
napoo1915
spitchered1920
kaput1924
bent1957
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > separation or breaking up into constituent parts > [adjective] > separated into constituents
resolveda1600
analysed1601
untwist1607
separated1661
decompounded1797
reduced1810
broken-down1816
dissociated1882
degraded1927
1816 J. Scott Paris Revisited v. 75 His poor broken-down animal.
1827 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Oct. 452/1 A half-drunk horse-couper, swinging to and fro..on a bit of broken-down blood.
1839–47 Todd's Cycl. Anat. & Physiol. III. 488/1 A mass of broken-down epithelium.
1840 R. H. Dana Two Years before Mast xxi. 63 Broken-down politicians.
1914 Duchess of Sutherland Six Weeks at War vi. 77 We saw a number of transport trains carrying broken-down auto-wagons on the trucks.
1944 W. H. Auden For Time Being (1945) 23 Where a crown Has the status of a broken-down Sofa.
1958 Times 9 Sept. 4/6 On three-lane highways..the problem of broken-down vehicles is less acute.
C2. Combinations.
a. General combinations: chiefly parasynthetic, as broken-ended, broken-footed, broken-fortuned, broken-handed, broken-headed, broken-hipped, broken broken-hoofed, broken-legged, broken-minded, broken-nosed, broken-paced, broken-shanked, broken-spirited, broken-winged, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > dejection > [adjective] > severely
broken-minded1362
broken-spirited1362
all amort1565
heartsick1590
soul-sick1609
stricken1846
shattered1930
black depressed1938
the mind > possession > poverty > [adjective] > poor > reduced to poverty
broken-fortuned1362
depauperatea1464
peeled?a1513
extenuate1533
withered1561
penured1570
low-ebbed1595
ruined1596
shredded1596
broken1597
beggared1609
impoverisheda1631
necessitated1646
pinched1672
crazy1700
reduced1715
straitened1716
crazed1732
poverty-struck?1750
poverty-stricken?1786
pauperized1807
poverty-smitten1819
distressed1844
out at elbows1885
poverished1900
wiped1977
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of visible parts > [adjective] > disorders of hand
broken-handed1362
the world > health and disease > ill health > animal disease or disorder > disorders of horses > [adjective] > disorders of feet or hooves
broken-hoofed1362
afounded?a1425
foundered1543
pumiced1566
hoof-bound1598
fretished1607
incastellated1611
wired1614
gravelled1630
grease-fallen1688
greasy1701
incastled1706
greased1710
scratchy1710
retraised1725
hot-footed1740
twitter-boned1760
quittered1778
thrushy1831
1362 W. Langland Piers Plowman A. vii. 131 Bote heo beo blynde or broke-schonket.
1545 R. Ascham Toxophilus i. f. 37 He weueth vp many brokenended matters.
?1555 M. Coverdale tr. O. Werdmueller Treat. Death iii. vii. 224 Whan he within seven dayes, had lost both hys sonnes, he was not..broken mynded.
1611 Bible (King James) Lev. xxi. 19 A man that is broken footed, or broken handed. View more context for this quotation
1701 London Gaz. No. 3693/4 A..Mare..a little broken Hoof'd before.
1740 S. Richardson Pamela II. 283 The broken-fortun'd Peer goes into the City to marry a rich Tradesman's Daughter.
1824 M. R. Mitford Our Village I. 285 The widow..had a complaining broken-spirited air.
1858 N. Hawthorne Jrnl. 6 Jan. in French & Ital. Notebks. (1980) i. 10 A broken-nosed image.
b. Special combinations. Also broken-backed adj., broken-hearted adj., broken wind n., broken-winded adj. † broken-lended adj. Obsolete ruptured.† broken-ridged adj. Obsolete hunchbacked.
broken-bellied adj. dialect affected with hernia, ruptured; also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > [adjective] > hernia or rupture
hernious1398
limb-broken1398
film-brokea1400
burstenc1440
broken-lended1483
rimburst1558
burst1574
bursten-gutted1601
broken-bellied1634
gut-foundered1647
ruptured1723
hernial1738
herniary1753
herniated1879
1634 M. Sandys Prudence xii. 168 Such is our broken-bellied Age, that this Astutia is turned into Versutia.
Categories »
broken-bodied adj. dialect = broken-bellied adj.
broken-kneed adj. Farriery having the knees damaged by stumbling, etc.; also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > body or parts of horse > [adjective] > of the legs > having particular type of hock
cat-hammed1695
broken-kneed1702
cow-hocked1827
knee-sprung1875
1702 London Gaz. No. 3814/4 Grey Gelding..broken Knee'd.
1823 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto VI ci. 51 His speech grew still more broken-kneed.
1876 G. J. Whyte-Melville Katerfelto xv. 167 He rode a broken-kneed Exmoor pony.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > [adjective] > hernia or rupture
hernious1398
limb-broken1398
film-brokea1400
burstenc1440
broken-lended1483
rimburst1558
burst1574
bursten-gutted1601
broken-bellied1634
gut-foundered1647
ruptured1723
hernial1738
herniary1753
herniated1879
1483 Cath. Angl. 45 Broken lendyde, lumbifractus.
broken-mouthed adj. (see quot.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > genus Ovus > [adjective] > of parts of > having particular type of teeth
broken-mouthed1750
1750 W. Ellis Country Housewife's Family Compan. 47 What we call broken-mouthed sheep, that is to say, such who by age have lost most of their teeth.
ΚΠ
c1225 (?c1200) Hali Meiðhad (Bodl.) (1940) l. 366 Wittlese beastes, dumbe & broke rugget, ibuhe towart eorðe.
a1400 tr. Lanfranc Sci. Cirurgie (Ashm.) (1894) 323 He schal be euermore gibbosis, id est, broken-riggid.
?a1450 J. Arderne in 17th Internat. Congr. Med. (1914) xxiii. 110 Bosue, i. brokeryggyd.
C3.
broken-clan n. Scots Law and Scottish History (see quot.).
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > outlawry > [noun] > outlaw > collective group or clan of
outlawry1557
broken-clan1831
1831 W. Scott Abbot (new ed.) II. xiv. 265 (note) A broken clan was one who had no chief able to find security for their good behaviour—a clan of outlaws.
broken-coal n. a special size of coal.
broken granite n. granite reduced to a size fit for road-making.
broken-grass n. (see quot.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > harvesting > [noun] > cutting, reaping, or mowing > mowing of grass
broken-grass1881
1881 S. Evans Evans's Leicestershire Words (new ed.) Broken-grass, grass left and mown after a field has been grazed by cattle.
broken home n. a home from which either the father or the mother of the children is absent, usually through legal separation or divorce.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > divorce or dissolution > [noun] > broken home
broken homea1846
single parent (family)1969
a1846 B. R. Haydon Autobiogr. (1853) I. v. 80 I left the vault, and returned to our broken home.
1919 J. C. Colcord (title) Broken homes, a study of family desertion and its social treatment.
1952 M. McCarthy Groves of Academe (1953) iv. 56 The wild-haired progressive-school rejects, offspring of broken homes.
1958 Listener 25 Sept. 480/3 There can be no doubt that a broken home can badly affect a child.
1959 B. Wootton Social Sci. & Social Pathol. x. 313 The broken home..normally means homes broken by death, desertion, separation or divorce, and often also by long absence on account of illness.
broken letter n. Typography distributed type.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > types, blocks, or plates > relating to type > [noun] > confused mass or disturbed order
pie1659
broken letter1683
1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. Dict. 371 By broken Letter is..meant..the breaking the orderly Succession the Letters stood in..and mingling the Letters together.
broken line n. in cartography, ornament, etc.: = pecked line n. at pecked adj.1 Compounds; also, as a road-marking.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > representation > a plastic or graphic representation > graphic representation > drawing lines > [noun] > other lines
linea1382
rulec1475
stroke1567
trig1648
ductor1658
style1690
pencil line1758
guideline1785
section-line1827
subhorizon1829
broken line1937
wiggle1942
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > ornamental art and craft > pattern or design > [noun] > stripes or bars
barc1385
barringc1386
bendingc1386
palingc1390
pale1415
candy stripe1875
broken line1937
society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > road > parts of road > [noun] > part where vehicles run > part wide enough for one vehicle > stud or line dividing lanes
white line1915
stud1925
broken line1937
cat's-eye1940
1937 F. Debenham Exercises in Cartogr. i. 9 Broken or pecked lines, and dotted lines are constantly used for boundaries, paths, shorelines, &c.
1954 Antiquaries Jrnl. 34 169 The broken-line ornament of D20, D24.
1956 Hansard Commons 13 Dec. (Written Answers) 84/2 If the white line nearer to him [sc. the driver] is a broken line, he may use his judgment and cross it if he can see that the road is clear.
1959 Highway Code 6 A broken line does not mean that it is safe for you to overtake.
1976 Milton Keynes Express 9 July 20/3 The Public Right of Way.., shown by a double broken black line on the map.
broken man n. Scots Law and Scottish History one under sentence of outlawry, or living the life of an outlaw, or depredator, chiefly in the Highlands and Border districts.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > outlawry > [noun] > outlaw
outlawOE
friendless manOE
wolf's-head?c1300
waithmanc1425
banished man1495
broken man1528
proscript1576
horner1590
outlawed1644
caput lupinum1837
ronin1858
1528 MS. Caligula in P. F. Tytler Hist. Scotl. (1864) II. 348 note Divers radis to be maid upon the brokin men of our realme.
1594 Sc. Acts 13 James VI §227 Daylie heirschippes of the wicked thieues and limmers of the Clannes and surnames following..broken men of the surnames of Stewarts.
a1649 W. Drummond Hist. James V in Wks. (1711) 95 A Thousand, all Borderers and broken Men.
1817 W. Scott Rob Roy II. xiii. 285 He..took to the brae-side, and became a broken man.
1875 H. J. S. Maine Lect. Early Hist. Inst. vi. 174 The result was probably to fill the country with ‘broken men’.
broken number n. a fraction.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > ratio or proportion > fraction > [noun]
fractionc1400
broken number1552
fracturea1690
fragmenta1690
mite1702
1552 R. Record Ground of Artes (rev. ed.) ii. sig. P.vv A fraction in dede is a broken numbre.
1797 E. Burke Lett. Peace Regic. France iii, in Wks. (1815) VIII. 355 This new-created income of two millions will probably furnish £665,000 (I avoid broken numbers).
broken tea n. tea-siftings.
ΚΠ
1870 London & China Tel. 4 Apr. 224/2 The broken tea that must be made during this operation is, in the majority of cases in China, generally left with the whole leaves.
broken time n. time lost from regular employment.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > work > times or periods of work > [noun] > time lost from regular employment
broken time1872
1872 Porcupine 18 May 102/2 I..was in the category of ‘broken time’.
1895 Westm. Gaz. 8 Nov. 1/3 The formation of a new Union on the basis of payment for ‘broken-time’, as it is called by courtesy.
1912 R. W. Poulton in Life (1919) 214 A carefully arranged payment for ‘broken time’ for men who are paid weekly or monthly for the hours they work.
1927 Sunday Express 27 Nov. 13/3 The resolutions passed at the recent Stadium Club meeting..on the question of ‘broken time’.
Draft additions June 2015
broken-heart syndrome n. heart disease or sudden death attributed to a stressful event such as bereavement; (in later use) spec. a syndrome mainly affecting older women (often after emotional or physical stress) characterized by sudden dysfunction of part of the left ventricle of the heart, accompanied by symptoms and other findings resembling those of a heart attack, but occurring in the absence of significant coronary artery disease and usually transient.
ΚΠ
1967 Newsweek 23 Oct. 92/3 (heading) ‘Broken Heart’ Syndrome. Can men and women die of a ‘Broken Heart’?... Dr. W. Dewi Rees..believes that the emotional stress of grief may lower the body's resistance to disease and even a person's ‘will’ to live.
1975 Comprehensive Psychiatry 16 542 The [desolation] effects include grief, new worries and responsibilities, alteration in diet, work, or recreational activities, a difficult economic situation, general feelings of hopelessness, or the broken-heart syndrome.
1994 J. M. Masson When Elephants Weep (1996) 52 Zoo keepers report that captive elephants are subject to ‘sudden-death syndrome’ or ‘broken-heart syndrome,’ which happens..when they are separated from their social group.
2011 Herald-Times (Bloomington, Indiana) 17 Nov. e2/2 Females are seven to nine times more likely to suffer ‘broken heart syndrome’, when sudden or prolonged stress like an emotional breakup or death causes overwhelming heart failure or heart attack-like symptoms.
Draft additions June 2007
broken record n. a scratched record that sticks at a particular point and constantly repeats the same brief passage when played; frequently in similes as the type of an annoying and constant repetition.
ΚΠ
1940 Yuma (Arizona) Daily Sun 29 Apr. 4 The foregoing headlines are beginning to sound like a broken record.
1988 Newsday (N.Y.) (Nexis) 12 Dec. ii. 7 A rhythmic, tonal, aggressively repetitive music that, for the novice, may summon the analogy of a stuck record to mind (this comparison will have to be replaced as the compact disc gains pre-eminence and we forget what broken records sounded like).
2004 New Republic 28 June 15/2 In the months following the war, many of us have sounded like broken records, repeatedly calling on the president to unite the international community in helping reconstruct Iraq.
Draft additions June 2006
broken window n. U.S. Criminology (frequently in plural) a theory suggesting that conspicuous signs of social disorder, such as graffiti and vandalism, create a climate of neglect in which serious crime can flourish; (also) an approach to crime prevention based on this theory; chiefly attributive.
ΚΠ
1982 G. L. Kelling & J. Q. Wilson Broken Windows in Atlantic Monthly Mar. 31/1 Philip Zimbardo, a Stanford psychologist, reported in 1969 on some experiments testing the broken-window theory.
1988 Los Angeles Times (Electronic ed.) 6 Oct. The pre-dawn sweep was part of the ‘Broken Windows Program’, a Police Department campaign to discourage crime by removing abandoned cars, graffiti and other telltale signs of urban decay.
1990 G. F. Will in Washington Post (Electronic ed.) 1 Feb. a21 The community..deteriorates through the ‘broken window’ dynamic.
2000 New Republic 10 Apr. 24/1 Broken windows has helped reduce crime in cities across the nation.
2006 New Yorker 6 Feb. 41/1 The crime decrease was attributed to..the decline of the drug trade, the gentrification of Brooklyn, the successful implementation of ‘broken windows’ policing.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1888; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.c1200