Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Opened or positioned so that a liquid, such as wine, can be let out.
  • adjective In a state of action; astir.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Broached; letting out or yielding liquor, or in a position for letting out: as, the cask is abroach.
  • Figuratively, to give rise to; spread abroad; disseminate; propagate.
  • To open, as a cask, for the purpose of letting out liquor; tap; broach.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb obsolete To set abroach; to let out, as liquor; to broach; to tap.
  • adverb Broached; in a condition for letting out or yielding liquor, as a cask which is tapped.
  • adverb Hence: In a state to be diffused or propagated; afoot; astir.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive, obsolete To set abroach; to let out, as liquor; to broach; to tap.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective of a cask or barrel

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English abroche : a-, on, in; see a– + broche, a pointed object, spigot; see broach.]

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Examples

  • But if you want something different and new abroach, vote for sen.

    Analysis: Crossing the Clintons 2008

  • In one place cooks were toiling to roast huge oxen, and fat sheep; in another, hogsheads of ale were set abroach, to be drained at the freedom of all comers.

    Ivanhoe 2004

  • Understanding that there was a butt of strong beer abroach in the yard, to which they were invited by the servants, they saved themselves the trouble and expense of returning to spend the evening at the public-house, and listed themselves under the banner of Tom Pipes, who presided as director of this festival.

    The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle 2004

  • As for the rest, he assailed them in their own way, setting whole hogsheads of beer and wine abroach, for the benefit of comers; and into those sordid hearts that liquor would not open, he found means to convey himself by the help of a golden key.

    The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle 2004

  • Thus he spends his age till the tap of it is run out, and then a fresh one is set abroach.

    Microcosmography or, a Piece of the World Discovered; in Essays and Characters John Earle

  • Sir Richard, anxious not to arouse the hostility of the villagers, bought the pipe of wine from the winner, and, setting it abroach, allowed all who would to drink; and so, in a tumult of cheers and blessings, he rode away to keep his tryst.

    Hero-Myths & Legends of the British Race

  • In one place cooks were toiling to roast huge oxen, and fat sheep; in another, hogsheads of ale were set abroach, to be drained at the freedom of all comers.

    Ivanhoe 1892

  • Kegs of hard cider and spruce beer and perhaps more potent brews are abroach, and behind the haggling and jesting and bustle you may catch the sound of muskets or the whoop of the Indians from afar.

    The History of the United States from 1492 to 1910, Volume 1 From Discovery of America October 12, 1492 to Battle of Lexington April 19, 1775 Julian Hawthorne 1890

  • This life dwelt in Him during His earthly ministry, though comparatively few availed themselves of it; His death set it abroach for all the world; the smitten rock yielded streams of living water; the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit; from His throne He proclaimed Himself as He that liveth, though He became dead, and is alive forevermore.

    Love to the Uttermost Expositions of John XIII.-XXI. 1888

  • We found a lot of old sails in a locker at the fore end of the forecastle, and these we divided, taking away a sufficiency to kindle a good rousing fire in the hold; and over these, as soon as we had deposited them in a suitable position, as well as over those remaining in the locker, we poured a few buckets of tar from a cask we found abroach on deck.

    For Treasure Bound Harry Collingwood 1886

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