breadth

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. The measure or dimension from side to side; width.
2. n. A piece usually produced in a standard width: a breadth of canvas.
3. n. Wide range or scope: breadth of knowledge.
4. n. Tolerance; broadmindedness: a jurist of great breadth and wisdom.
5. n. An effect of unified, encompassing vision in an artistic composition.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. The measure of the second principal diameter of a surface or solid, the first being length, and the third (in the case of a solid) thickness. Thus, if a rectangular parallelopiped measures 3 feet by 2 feet by 1 foot, its breadth is 2 feet. The breadth of a surface is, in the common use of the word, the distance between the margins, which are regarded as the sides, as distinguished from length, or the distance from end to end.
2. n. Hence Figuratively, largeness; freedom from narrowness or restraint; liberality: as, breadth of culture, breadth of view, etc.
3. n. That quality in a work of art, whether pictorial or plastic, which is obtained by the simple, clear rendering of essential forms, and the strict subordination of details to general effect. Breadth of design, of color, of light and shade, or of surface treatment, gives an impression of mastery, ease, and freedom in the use of material on the part of the artist, which conveys a sense of repose and dignity to the mind.
4. n. In logic, extension; an aggregate of subjects of which a logical term can be predicated.
5. n. Something that has breadth; specifically, a piece of a fabric of the regular width; a width.

Wiktionary

1. n. The extent or measure of how broad or wide something is.
2. n. A piece of fabric of standard width.
3. n. Scope or range, especially of knowledge or skill.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. Distance from side to side of any surface or thing; measure across, or at right angles to the length; width.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. the extent of something from side to side
2. n. the capacity to understand a broad range of topics