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.
双语例句
1. Slow music encourages supermarket-shoppers to browse longer but spend more.
舒缓的音乐会促使超市购物者花更长的时间浏览商品的同时花更多的钱。
来自柯林斯例句
2. I stopped in several bookstores to browse.
我曾在几家书店停留，翻看里面的书。
来自柯林斯例句
3. You are welcome to come in and browse.
欢迎您光临本店随便看看。
来自《权威词典》
4. to browse a site on the World Wide Web
在万维网上浏览一个网站
来自《权威词典》
5. There are plenty of biographies for him to browse over.
