Phrase guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
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noun
Bread or some other staple foodstuff.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: idiomatic, literary, often, poetic
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
food made from dough of flour or meal and usually raised with yeast or baking powder and then baked
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: bread, breadstuff
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: starches, baked goods
Narrower terms: anadama bread, bap, barmbrack, breadstick, bread-stick, brown bread, Boston brown bread, bun, roll, caraway seed bread, challah, hallah, cinnamon bread, cracked-wheat bread, cracker, crouton, dark bread, whole wheat bread, whole meal bread, English muffin, flatbread, garlic bread, gluten bread, Host, loaf of bread, loaf, matzo, matzoh, matzah, unleavened bread, nan, naan, onion bread, raisin bread, quick bread, rye bread, salt-rising bread, simnel, sour bread, sourdough bread, toast, wafer, white bread, light bread
History
By extension from the Biblical phrase “break the staff of bread” (Hebrew מַטֶּה לֶחֶם (maté lékhem)), staff (“long, straight rod”) in this context meaning something that acts as a support: see, for example, Leviticus 26:26 (King James Version; spelling modernized): “And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied”; and Ezekiel 4:16: “[...] Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem, and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care, and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment: [...]”. Compare Egyptian ḫt n ꜥnḫ (“grain; food”, literally “stick or wood of life”).
