Revised as of
27 Oct 2022
She’s been bread to abide by . . .
Yeah, I read this in a book. Even my overactive imagination can’t figure out what this is about. Well, yes, I know the author meant to write bred, but I tend to take words literally.
If a writer uses bred, I’m assuming they mean how the person/animal/thing was brought up, raised or who its parents were.
Now, bread says to me *grin* sandwiches, French toast, submarines, bread pudding, bagels, a grilled cheese sammich . . . You know, bread.
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end. Consider sharing this Word Confusion with friends by tweeting it.
| Bread | Bred |
|---|---|
Various Grains by Peggy Greb, USDA ARS, is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. — Grains = bread. |
German Part-Bred Shetland Pony Gelding is Shetta’s own work under the CC BY-SA 3.0license, via Wikimedia Commons. |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Noun
Plural: breads |
Morpheme: breed
Adjective; Verb, intransitive & transitive Plural for the noun: breeds Third person present verb: breeds |
Food made of flour, water, and yeast or another leavening agent, mixed together and baked
[Informal] Money |
Adjective: Usually in combination [Of a person or animal] Reared in a specified environment or way Verb, intransitive: Verb, transitive:
|
| Examples: | |
| Do we have any bread rolls left?
Ciabatta is an Italian white bread. I hope you know which side your bread is buttered on, you young whippersnapper. I’d take it kindly if you’d come home with me and break bread with my family and me. The microwave is the best thing since sliced bread. A loaf of bread and thou beside me singing. I hate doing this, but I need the bread. His day job puts bread on the table. |
Adjective: He can’t help it if he’s a city-bred man. He’s country-bred. Doesn’t know how to get along in a city. Verb, intransitive: Mischief breeds in bored minds. Theresa had been beautifully bred. Verb, transitive: These horses are bred for this sport. His success has bred his sense of confidence. Yep, what’s bred in the bone comes out in the flesh. |
| Derivatives: | |
| Adjective: breaded, breadier, breadiest, breadwinning, bready, Noun: breadbasket, breadboard, breadbox, breadcrumb, breading, breadline, breadstick, breadstuff, breadwinner, breadwinning |
Adjective: breedable Noun: breeder, breeding, subbreed Verb, transitive: overbreed, overbred, overbreeding, rebreed, rebred, rebreeding |
| History of the Word: | |
| Old English brēad is of Germanic origin and related to the Dutch brood and the German Brot. | Old English brēdan meaning produce as in offspring and bear as in a child. It’s of Germanic origin and related to the German brüten |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Bread vs Bred
Apple Dictionary.com
The Free Dictionary: breed
Pinterest Photo Credits
Libby McNeill & Libby Corned Beef, 1898, by A.C. Cunningham, San Fransisco, California, (signed lower right) is in the public domain and Black and White by John Haynes is under the CC BY-SA 2.0 license; both via Wikimedia Commons. A Ruben by Wonderlane is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Flickr.
