per The Urban Dictionary, broad is:
Word for a woman. Less respectable than lady but much more respectable than bitch.
Not specifically a young lady.
In America, broad refers to a woman of age that is ummmm . . . how shall I say, . . experienced and enjoying the liberation.
Duane
My experience has been the use of the word has been curtailed, except to use with a New York or jersey accent and describe as a pre-women's lib sort of misogynistic kinda guys interpretation of women. It's kinda harsh. Jack Lemmon sitting in a grey flannel corporate suit in 1962 drinking a Martini in Manhattan. The construction worker sitting on scaffolding outside making cracks and whistling at passing pedestrian women in bullet bras, "Wow, check out that broad's cabezzas!"
It has been used been used like, "She is quite a broad." This is a complement of respect, but she is still being encased in the notion of just a broad.
Broads are usually strangers. The wives are not referred to by the husbands as "the broads" when they are split up, say, men at barbecue, "girls" in the kitchen.
I'm not familiar with the more narrowly defined term as Eyesup refers. This surprised me.
Jbee