etymology - Why is news said to be "breaking"?


I was just wondering what the origins of "breaking news" or "we broke the story" are.



Answer



The word breaking in this context means to



undergo a change or enter a new state, in particular ... of news or a scandal [NOAD]



Etymonline has this interesting tidbit to offer about break:



Meaning "to disclose" is from mid-13c.



That meaning is the flip side of the way you used it, and it is a transitive verb: "He broke the news to me that .." I believe that got modified to "breaking news" by extension.


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