Etymologically
Log in

browser

Etymology and origin of the English word browser

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1550

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈbɹaʊ.zə/ (UK); /ˈbɹaʊ.zəɹ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is an agent noun from browse, formed with -er.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Possibly one who feeds deer in winter: 1550 in the OED, a doubtful sense.[3] An animal that browses is from 1845,[2][3] and Merriam-Webster dates a sense to 1675.[4]

Semantic evolution

A person who browses among books is from 1863.[2][3] The computer sense, a program for finding and viewing items, is by 1982; the first such browser was made at Xerox PARC by Larry Tesler for the Smalltalk language.[2] Today it means especially software for reading web pages on the Internet.[5]

Timeline

  • 1550 – a feeder of deer (?).[3]
  • 1845 – a browsing animal.[2][3]
  • 1863 – a person who browses books.[2][3]
  • 1982 – a computer browser.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A person who looks casually through books or goods.
  2. An animal that feeds on leaves and shoots.
  3. (computing) A software program for finding and viewing web pages and other files.

Word family

  • nonbrowser
  • browse

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Browser.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/browser. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·