browse
pronunciation
How to pronounce browse in British English:
UK [braʊz]
How to pronounce browse in American English:
US [braʊz]
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- Noun:
- reading superficially or at random
- the act of feeding by continual nibbling
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- Verb:
- shop around; not necessarily buying
- feed as in a meadow or pasture
- look around casually and randomly, without seeking anything in particular
- eat lightly, try different dishes
Word Origin
- browse
- browse: [16] Although the noun has now largely died out, browse was originally both a verb and a noun, and appears to come from Old French broust, brost ‘young shoots, twigs’ (hence the verb meant originally ‘feed on such shoots’). The source of the French word is not clear, but it is probably ultimately Germanic; a certain similarity in form and meaning has suggested a connection with the Old Saxon verb brustian ‘bud’ which, if it were so, would mean that browse is related to breast. The modern figurative sense, applied to shops, libraries, etc seems to be 19th-century.
- browse (v.)
- mid-15c., "feed on buds," from Middle French brouster, from Old French broster "to sprout, bud," from brost "young shoot, twig," probably from Proto-Germanic *brust- "bud, shoot," from PIE *bhreus- "to swell, sprout" (see breast (n.)). Lost its final -t in English on the mistaken notion that the letter was a past participle inflection. Figurative extension to "peruse" (books) is 1870s, American English. Related: Browsed; browsing.
Example
- 1. Can we browse privately and opt-out of online tracking ?
- 2. Browse and search flickr photos in a sidebar .
- 3. Banner ads must be placed where potential customers browse .
- 4. You can browse by keywords , location or time .
- 5. College-admissions deans and potential employers browse bacchanalian footage .