Broke - Wiktionary

See also: brokë

English

[edit]

Pronunciation

[edit]

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈbɹəʊ̯k/
• (General American, Canada) IPA(key): /ˈbɹoʊ̯k/, /ˈbɹɔʊ̯k/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊk
• Hyphenation: broke

Etymology 1

[edit]

Ablauted form of break.

Verb

[edit]

broke

1. simple past of break
2. (archaic, nonstandard or poetic) past participle of break
   • 1853, John Welsey, The Works of the Rev. John Wesley, Volume 7‎[1], page 261:Accordingly, he came with a mob the next day; and after they had broke all the windows...
   • 1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide:The horse was the grey stallion he aye rode, the very beast he had ridden for many a wager with the wild lads of the Cross Keys. No man but himself durst back it, and it had lamed many a hostler lad and broke two necks in its day.
   • 1999 October 3, J. Stewart Burns, "Mars University", Futurama, season 2, episode 2, Fox Broadcasting Company Guenther: I guess the hat must have broke my fall.

Adjective

[edit]

broke (not generally comparable, comparative broker or more broke, superlative brokest or most broke)

1. (informal) Financially ruined, bankrupt. He was broke after spending all his money into video games.
   • 1665 July 6, Samuel Pepys, Vol. VI, p. 150: It seems some of his Creditors have taken notice of it, and he was like to be broke yesterday in his absence.
2. (informal) Without any money, penniless. Synonyms: see Thesaurus:impoverished dead broke; flat broke
3. (archaic, now informal) Broken. If it ain’t broke, don't fix it.
   • 1822, William Wolryche Whitmore, A Letter on the Present State and Future Prospects of Agriculture‎[2], page 53:If the farmer is seriously injured by the depressed state of the markets, his spirit is broke, and there must ensue a very general discredit with regard to the farming business;
   • 1973, “Photograph”, in Ringo, performed by Ringo Starr:I can't get used to living here / While my heart is broke, my tears I cry for you
   • 1983, Chicago Transit Authority, CTA Transit News, volume 36, page 8:Watkins notified the shop foreman immediately, whereupon the car was inspected and found to have a broke axle.
   • 2011, Mike Major, Fran Devereux Smith, Ranch-Horse Versatility: A Winner's Guide to Successful Rides:A broke horse tries to do anything I want, and that is expected of any horse.
4. (naval and military) Demoted, deprived of a commission. He was broke and rendered unfit to serve His Majesty at sea.

Memoirs of the most remarkable military transactions from the year 1683 to 1718, by Captain Robert Parker. "Whereupon Sir John was broke, as he well deserved; several other officers also shared the same fate; particularly his two sons, one a Lieutenant-colonel, the other a Captain."

Derived terms

[edit]

• brokeass
• broke-ass
• brokeness
• broker than the Ten Commandments
• go for broke
• greenbroke
• gunbroke
• heartbroke
• if it ain't broke, don't fix it
• nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people
• stone broke
• stony broke

Descendants

[edit]

• → German: broke

Translations

[edit] lacking money; bankrupt — see also skint,‎ impecunious,‎ poor

Afrikaans: platsak (af) Arabic: مُفْلِس (ar) m (muflis) Breton: kras (br) Bulgarian: разорен (bg) (razoren) Catalan: pelat (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 手頭緊 / 手头紧 (zh) (shǒutóujǐn), 手緊 / 手紧 (zh) (shǒujǐn), 沒錢 / 没钱 (zh) (méiqián) Czech: na mizině, švorc Danish: flad (da) Dutch: blut (nl) Esperanto: senmona Finnish: rahaton (fi), auki (fi) (slang), persaukinen (fi) (somewhat vulgar) French: fauché (fr), à sec (fr) (invariable), (formally) désargenté (fr) Galician: a pan pedir (gl) German: pleite (de), abgebrannt (de), broke (de) Greek: άφραγκος (el) (áfragkos) Hungarian: le van égve (hu), nincs egy vasa sem, pénztelen (hu) Italian: al verde (it) (invariable), in bancarotta, fallito (it) Japanese: すっからかん (ja) (sukkarakan) Māori: mone Norwegian: blakk (no) Polish: spłukany (pl) (informal) Portuguese: quebrado (pt), duro (pt), liso (pt) Romanian: lefter (ro) Russian: разори́вшийся (ru) (razorívšijsja), разорённый (ru) (razorjónnyj), безде́нежный (ru) (bezdénežnyj), без гроша́ (ru) (bez grošá), обанкро́тившийся (ru) (obankrótivšijsja), на мели́ (ru) (na melí) Serbo-Croatian: švorc (sh), шворц Spanish: (uses estar or andar as opposed ser for "poor") pobre (es), pelado (es), sin un duro, sin un peso, sin blanca, tieso (es), a dos velas, chele (es), aguja (es), mishio (es) (obsolescent, River Plate), estril (Honduras), misio (es), ajustado (es), acabado (es), lavado (es), liso (es), arrancado (es), arrollado (es), bruja (es) Swahili: msoto (sw) Swedish: pank (sv) Turkish: züğürt (tr), meteliksiz (tr) Ukrainian: банкру́т (uk) m (bankrút), банкро́т (uk) m (bankrót)

Etymology 2

[edit]

From Middle English broce, from Old English gebroc (“fragment”), from brecan (“to break”). Compare broken, past participle of break.[1] Compare also Scots brock (“a scrap of meat or bread”).[2]

Noun

[edit]

broke (plural brokes)

1. (papermaking) Paper or board that is discarded and repulped during the manufacturing process.
   • 1880, James Dunbar, The Practical Papermaker: A Complete Guide to the Manufacture of Paper‎[3], page 12:If the broke accumulates, a larger proportion can be used in making coloured papers, otherwise the above quantity is sufiicient.
   • 1914, The World's Paper Trade Review Volume 62‎[4], page 204:Presumably, most of the brokes and waste were used up in this manner, and during the manufacture of the coarse stuff little or no attention was paid to either cleanliness or colour.
   • 2014 September 25, Judge Diane Wood, NCR Corp. v. George A. Whiting Paper Co.‎[5]:These mills purchase broke from other paper mills through middlemen and use it to make paper.
2. (obsolete) A fragment, remains, a piece broken off.
   • 1855, January Searle, Poems, page 4:Why dost though linger, then, / To hear the flatteries of these men of rags? / These bankrupt beggar-men, / Whose riches are the broke meat in their bags?

References

[edit]

1. ^ James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “Broke”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC.
2. ^ “brock, n2.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.

Etymology 3

[edit]

Back-formation from broker.

Verb

[edit]

broke (third-person singular simple present brokes, present participle broking, simple past and past participle broked)

1. To act as a broker; to transact business for another; synonym of broker. Agents broking with various other carriers can offer additional options.
   • 1837, Comprising Reports of Cases in the Courts of Chancery […] :The only evidence of bill-broking is, that he has often been a party to bills of exchange
   • 1992, Philippe Moore, The 1992 guide to European equity markets:[…]because the Spanish equity market was substantially over-broked even at the height of its bull market, with over 50 brokers servicing the market.
2. (obsolete) To act as procurer in love matters; to pimp.
   • 1655 [1572], Luís de Camões, translated by Richard Fanshawe, The Lusiad, translation of original in Portuguese, Canto IX, stanza 44:But we do want a certain necessary / Woman, to broke between them CUPID said;
   • c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene v]:And brokes with all that can in such a suit / Corrupt the tender honour of a maid.

Etymology 4

[edit]

Clipping of broke off.

Adjective

[edit]

broke (comparative more broke, superlative most broke)

1. (slang) Broke off, rich, wealthy

Anagrams

[edit]

• Borek, Kober, berko, borek

Albanian

[edit]

Noun

[edit]

broke f

1. indefinite dative/ablative singular of brokë

German

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

Unadapted borrowing from English broke.

Adjective

[edit]

broke (strong nominative masculine singular broker, comparative broker, superlative am broksten)

1. (youth slang, neologism) broke (without any money) Synonym: pleite
   • 2020 November 8, Schwesta Grimm, Spieglein, Spieglein an der Wand, wer hat die meisten Follower im ganzen Land?: Die beliebtesten Märchen in derbe nicem Deutsch‎[6], Riva Verlag, →ISBN, →OCLC, Hänsel und Gretel, page 19:Es waren einmal ein Holzfäller und seine Frau, die zwar derbe am Hustlen waren, aber trotzdem so broke, dass jeder Hartzer dagegen der übelste Gönnjamin gewesen wäre. Die Frau wusste irgendwann nicht mehr weiter mit ihrem Life, und sie so: »Habibi, setz mal die Kinder im Wald aus, wir können die echt nicht auch noch mit durchfüttern.«(please add an English translation of this quotation)

Declension

[edit] Positive forms of broke

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist broke	sie ist broke	es ist broke	sie sind broke
strong declension (without article)	nominative	broker	broke	brokes	broke
	genitive	broken	broker	broken	broker
	dative	brokem	broker	brokem	broken
	accusative	broken	broke	brokes	broke
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der broke	die broke	das broke	die broken
	genitive	des broken	der broken	des broken	der broken
	dative	dem broken	der broken	dem broken	den broken
	accusative	den broken	die broke	das broke	die broken
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein broker	eine broke	ein brokes	(keine) broken
	genitive	eines broken	einer broken	eines broken	(keiner) broken
	dative	einem broken	einer broken	einem broken	(keinen) broken
	accusative	einen broken	eine broke	ein brokes	(keine) broken

Comparative forms of broke

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist broker	sie ist broker	es ist broker	sie sind broker
strong declension (without article)	nominative	brokerer	brokere	brokeres	brokere
	genitive	brokeren	brokerer	brokeren	brokerer
	dative	brokerem	brokerer	brokerem	brokeren
	accusative	brokeren	brokere	brokeres	brokere
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der brokere	die brokere	das brokere	die brokeren
	genitive	des brokeren	der brokeren	des brokeren	der brokeren
	dative	dem brokeren	der brokeren	dem brokeren	den brokeren
	accusative	den brokeren	die brokere	das brokere	die brokeren
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein brokerer	eine brokere	ein brokeres	(keine) brokeren
	genitive	eines brokeren	einer brokeren	eines brokeren	(keiner) brokeren
	dative	einem brokeren	einer brokeren	einem brokeren	(keinen) brokeren
	accusative	einen brokeren	eine brokere	ein brokeres	(keine) brokeren

Superlative forms of broke

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist am broksten	sie ist am broksten	es ist am broksten	sie sind am broksten
strong declension (without article)	nominative	brokster	brokste	brokstes	brokste
	genitive	broksten	brokster	broksten	brokster
	dative	brokstem	brokster	brokstem	broksten
	accusative	broksten	brokste	brokstes	brokste
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der brokste	die brokste	das brokste	die broksten
	genitive	des broksten	der broksten	des broksten	der broksten
	dative	dem broksten	der broksten	dem broksten	den broksten
	accusative	den broksten	die brokste	das brokste	die broksten
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein brokster	eine brokste	ein brokstes	(keine) broksten
	genitive	eines broksten	einer broksten	eines broksten	(keiner) broksten
	dative	einem broksten	einer broksten	einem broksten	(keinen) broksten
	accusative	einen broksten	eine brokste	ein brokstes	(keine) broksten

Further reading

[edit]

• “broke” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon