Peruse
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: /pəˈɹuËz/
- Rhymes: -uËz
Origin
From per-+use, from either Medieval Latin (peruti, perusitare ("wear out")) or Anglo-Norman (peruser ("use up")), originally leading two concurrent meanings, but only those derived from "to examine" survive today.
Full definition of peruse
Noun
peruse
(plural peruses)- An examination or perusal; an instance of perusing.
- 2008, Dave Robson, "Hi-tea, low cost!", Evening Gazette online, September 12,A peruse of the website looked promising ...
Verb
- (transitive) To examine or consider with care.
- Sitting on a low stool, a few yards from her arm-chair, I examined her figure; I perused her features.
- (transitive) To read completely.
- We are for reasons that, after perusing this manuscript, you may be able to guess, going away again this time to Central Asia ...
- (transitive, informal) To look over casually; to skim.
- Haynes quickly perused the message, then took it to the captain on the bridge.
- She asked Denise for the court file, which she fussed from her handbag. The woman perused it briefly and then beamed up at me.
- (intransitive, regional) To go from place to place; to wander.
- I loved to straggle off in the mornings ..., just perusing around for firewood.
Usage notes
The sense of "skimming" is proscribed by some authorities on usage, including the Oxford American Dictionary. The shift, however, is not dissimilar to that found in scan. The Oxford English Dictionary further notes that the word was used as a general synonym for read as far back as the 16th century.