Where does “browse” come from?

Browse comes from Middle English browsen, from Old French brouster, from Old French brost, from Frankish brust, from Proto-Germanic brusts, from Proto-Indo-European bʰrews-.

browse (English): To scan, to casually look through in order to...

Definitions

  1. To scan, to casually look through in order to...

Ancestry of “browse”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishbrowsen
2Old Frenchbrouster
3Old Frenchbrostsprout; a sprout, shoot, bud
4Middle High Germanbrobest
5Old High Germanprovost
6Old Frenchprovost
7Latinprōpositusset forth
8Latinpraepositusplaced in front; placed in command; One placed in...
9Latinpraepōnōto place or set over as chief, commander, or superintendent; to place at the head of or entrust with the charge or command of; to appoint or depute as
10Latinprae-before; in front; in charge
11Proto-Italicprai-pre-, before
12Proto-Indo-Europeanpreh₂-before, in front
13Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
14Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

Words derived from “browse

Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tósEvery word from Proto-Indo-European per-Every word from Proto-Indo-European preh₂-
browse — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer