From either Medieval Latin perūtor, perūsitō (“wear out”) or Anglo-Norman peruser (“use up”), originally leading to two concurrent meanings, but only those derived from "to examine" survive today. By surface analysis, per- + use.
Meanings
An examination or perusal; an instance of perusing.
A peruse of the website looked promising […] 2008 September 12, Dave Robson, “Hi-tea, low cost!”, in Evening Gazette:
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peruses
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Translations (10)
hu áttanulmányozás (perusal) · fi tutkimus (perusal) · fi tarkastelu (perusal) · hu átolvasás (perusal) · ru рассмотрение (perusal) · fr examen (perusal) · hu áttekintés (perusal) · bg внимателно разглеждане (perusal) · cmn 研读 (perusal) · cmn 细读 (perusal)
From either Medieval Latin perūtor, perūsitō (“wear out”) or Anglo-Norman peruser (“use up”), originally leading to two concurrent meanings, but only those derived from "to examine" survive today. By surface analysis, per- + use.
Meanings
(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. 1847 October 16, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], chapter IV, in Jane Eyre. […], volume I, London: Smith, Elder, and Co., […], →OCLC, page 58:
(transitive) To read completely.
Not every German who bought a copy of Mein Kampf necessarily read it. […]But it might be argued that had more non-Nazi Germans read it before 1933 and had the foreign statesmen of the world perused it carefully while there still was time, both Germany and the world might have been saved from catastrophe. 1960, William L. Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, Simon & Schuster, page 81:
We are for reasons that, after perusing this manuscript, you may be able to guess, going away again this time to Central Asia […] 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:
This survey may be made by perusing al Books and taking notice of all Mechanicall Inventions. 1647, William Petty, The Advice to Hartlib:
(informal, transitive) To look over casually; to skim.
“I’m looking at the headlines and perusing around on the internet and I see that this guy came to your show and he brought a friendship bracelet and wants to meet you,” Swift’s mom said in the documentary. 2026 July 4, Brittany Spanos, “Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce marry at New York City’s Madison Square Garden”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
She asked Denise for the court file, which she fussed from her handbag. The woman perused it briefly and then beamed up at me. 2005, Al Lovejoy, Acid Alex, →ISBN, page 98:
Haynes quickly perused the message, then took it to the captain on the bridge. 2001, Doug Stanton, In Harm's Way: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis, →ISBN, page 35:
(intransitive, regional) To go from place to place; to wander.
I loved to straggle off in the mornings […], just perusing around for firewood. 1957, Robert Ruark, The Old Man And The Boy, →ISBN, page 55:
tr etüt (to examine or consider with care) · is lesa gaumgæfilega (to read completely) · sk preštudovať (to examine or consider with care) · hu áttekint (look over casually) · de genau unter die Lupe nehmen (to examine or consider with care) · es ver por encima (look over casually) · fi lukea huolellisesti (to read completely) · sv granska (to examine or consider with care) · de durchlesen (to read completely) · ru просма́тривать (look over casually) · fi tutkia (to examine or consider with care) · tr araştırma (to examine or consider with care) · cs přelétnout (look over casually) · nb skumme (look over casually) · nb skumlese (look over casually) · ru изучи́ть (to examine or consider with care) · ru рассма́тривать (to examine or consider with care) · es bichar (to examine or consider with care) · sk preskúmať (to examine or consider with care) · hu áttanulmányoz (to examine or consider with care) · cs pročíst (to read completely) · cmn 细读 (to examine or consider with care) · gv aalhaih (to read completely) · cs prohlédnout (look over casually) · hu átfut (look over casually) · es mirar con detenimiento (to examine or consider with care) · nb gjennomlese (to read completely) · cs prostudovat (to examine or consider with care) · ca fullejar (look over casually) · ota اوقومق (to read completely) · es trashojar (look over casually) · hu végigolvas (to read completely) · ru изуча́ть (to examine or consider with care) · is lesa (to read completely) · ru рассмотре́ть (to examine or consider with care) · de studieren (to examine or consider with care) · pt examinar (to examine or consider with care) · es revisar (to examine or consider with care) · tr inceleme (to examine or consider with care) · io parlektar (to read completely) · ru просмотре́ть (look over casually) · bg чета внимателно (to examine or consider with care) · cs přečíst (to read completely) · ru прочи́тывать (to read completely) · es hojear (look over casually) · es leer detenidamente (to read completely) · hu szemügyre vesz (to examine or consider with care) · fr feuilleter (look over casually) · nb granske (to examine or consider with care) · cs prozkoumat (to examine or consider with care) · pt ler todo (to read completely) · es ojear (look over casually) · el εξετάζω (to examine or consider with care) · hu átolvas (look over casually) · fr jeter un coup d'œil (look over casually) · el μελετώ (to read completely) · ca llegir en diagonal (look over casually) · fr survoler (look over casually) · es leer por encima (look over casually) · ca llegir per sobre (look over casually) · ru прочита́ть (to read completely) · fr examiner (to examine or consider with care) · es leer a la rápida (look over casually) · ga breithnigh (to examine or consider with care) · nl zorgvuldig onderzoeken (to examine or consider with care) · cmn 研读 (to examine or consider with care) · tr mütalaa (to examine or consider with care) · io parkurar (to read completely) · de überfliegen (look over casually) · es examinar (to examine or consider with care)