peruse

English

WOTD – 22 September 2008

Etymology

From per- +‎ use, from either (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Medieval Latin (peruti, perusitare (“wear out”)) or (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Anglo-Norman (peruser (“use up”)), originally leading to two concurrent meanings, but only those derived from "to examine" survive today.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pəˈɹuːz/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uːz

Noun

peruse (plural peruses)

1. 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 […]

Translations

perusal

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 细读 (zh) (Xì dú), 研读 (zh) (Yándú)

• Finnish: tutkimus (fi), tarkastelu (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• French: examen (fr) m
• Russian: рассмотрение (ru) (rassmotrenije)

Verb

1. (transitive) To examine or consider with care.
   • 1847, Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, Chapter IV:

     Sitting on a low stool, a few yards from her arm-chair, I examined her figure; I perused her features.

2. (transitive) To read completely.
   • 1647, William Petty, The Advice to Hartlib:

     This survey may be made by perusing al Books and taking notice of all Mechanicall Inventions.

   • 1887, H. Rider Haggard, She, Introduction:

     We are for reasons that, after perusing this manuscript, you may be able to guess, going away again this time to Central Asia […]

3. (transitive, informal) To look over casually; to skim.
   • 2001, Doug Stanton, In Harm's Way: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis‎^[1], →ISBN, page 35:

     Haynes quickly perused the message, then took it to the captain on the bridge.

   • 2005, Al Lovejoy, Acid Alex‎^[2], →ISBN, page 98:

     She asked Denise for the court file, which she fussed from her handbag. The woman perused it briefly and then beamed up at me.

4. (intransitive, regional) To go from place to place; to wander.
   • 1957, Robert Ruark, The Old Man And The Boy‎^[3], →ISBN, page 55:

     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.

Derived terms

• perusable
• perusal
• peruser

Translations

to examine or consider with care

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 细读 (zh) (Xì dú), 研读 (zh) (Yándú)

• Czech: prostudovat, prozkoumat
• Dutch: zorgvuldig onderzoeken
• Finnish: tutkia (fi)
• French: examiner (fr)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: studieren (de), genau unter die Lupe nehmen
• Greek: εξετάζω (el) (exetázo)
• Portuguese: examinar (pt)
• Russian: (внима́тельно (vnimátelʹno)) изуча́ть (ru) impf (izučátʹ), изучи́ть (ru) impf (izučítʹ), рассма́тривать (ru) impf (rassmátrivatʹ), рассмотре́ть (ru) pf (rassmotrétʹ)
• Slovak: preštudovať, preskúmať
• Spanish: examinar (es)

to lazily skim read for main ideas

• Czech: přečíst (cs), pročíst
• Finnish: lukea huolellisesti
• French: survoler (fr), feuilleter (fr)
• German: durchlesen (de)
• Greek: μελετώ (el) (meletó)
• Hungarian: végigolvas
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Icelandic: lesa gaumgæfilega, lesa (is)
• Ido: parkurar (io), parlektar (io)
• Manx: aalhaih
• Portuguese: ler (pt) todo (pt) m
• Russian: прочи́тывать (ru) impf (pročítyvatʹ), прочита́ть (ru) impf (pročitátʹ)
• Spanish: ojear (es), hojear (es), leer por encima, ver por encima, leer a la rápida

look over casually

• Czech: prohlédnout (cs), přelétnout
• French: jeter un coup d’œil (fr)
• German: überfliegen (de)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: átolvas (hu)
• Russian: просма́тривать (ru) impf (prosmátrivatʹ), просмотре́ть (ru) pf (prosmotrétʹ)

Anagrams

• persue, purees, purées, rupees

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Latin

Participle

(deprecated template usage) peruse

1. vocative masculine singular of perusus