brad
[brad]
- a slender wire nail having either a small, deep head or a projection to one side of the head end.
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- to fasten with brads.
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Origin of brad
1425–75; late Middle English brad, dialectal variant of Middle English brod(d) sprout, shoot, nail < Old Norse braddr, cognate with Old English brord spike (see braird)
Brad
[brad]
- a male given name.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for brad
Contemporary Examples
Joy Woodhouse calls in to tell her bickering boys Brad and Dallas to “get this out of your system” before Christmas.
Brad Rutter is trying to turn his trivia fame into entertainment.
Cast Angelina Jolie in that role with Brad Pitt as the cave hubbie, and maybe we have a blockbuster in the making.
The fight for marriage equality and legal cases has “sucked the air out of the room for other organizations,” says Brad Becker.
Maintaining the high caliber of guest to which his viewers have become accustomed, Galifianakis welcomes Brad Pitt to the ferns.
Historical Examples
"Good deal like a quiltin' so fur," remarked Brad Freeman indulgently.
Tiverton TalesAlice Brown
It seemed, then, that Brad had always cherished one dear ambition.
Tiverton TalesAlice Brown
"Now put your hand up an' grip that rope that's hangin' there," commanded Brad.
Tiverton TalesAlice Brown
Brad Freeman an' Jont Marshall agreed to play fust an' second fiddle.
Meadow GrassAlice Brown
His tone was quite conclusive; and Brad, albeit wondering, said no more.
Meadow GrassAlice Brown
brad
- a small tapered nail having a small head that is either symmetrical or formed on one side only
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Word Origin
Old English brord point, prick; related to Old Norse broddr spike, sting, Old High German brort edge
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for brad
n.
"small wire nail," late 13c., brod, from Old Norse broddr "spike, point, arrow," from Proto-Germanic *brozda- (cf. Old English brord "point, prick, blade of grass," Old High German brort "point, edge, crown"), from PIE *bhrs-dh-, from root *bhars- "projectile, point, bristle" (see bristle (n.)).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper