In the direction of breadth or width; measured or oriented across rather than along length.
From 'breadth' plus the suffix '-wise' (Old English 'wis' meaning direction or manner). Nearly synonymous with 'breadthways', showing variant English formations.
Both 'breadthways' and 'breadthwise' survived in technical fields like tailoring and carpentry, where you need different words for different dimensional orientations—it's language shaped by craft precision.
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