'broadly-divided' originates from the combination of 'broadly' and 'divided', where 'broadly' is derived from 'broad', meaning 'wide', and 'divided' from 'divide', meaning 'to separate'.

'broadly' changed from the Old English word 'brād' and 'divided' from the Latin word 'dividere', eventually forming the modern English term 'broadly-divided'.

Initially, it meant 'separated into wide sections', and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.