Etymologically
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surf

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 16:19. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /sɜːf/ (UK); /sɝf/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is probably an alteration of earlier suffe (1599), of uncertain origin, perhaps influenced by surge.[2][3][4][5][6] Because suff and surf were first used of the coast of India, and the earliest record is from Madras, an Indic origin has been suggested;[2][3] others take suff for a phonetic spelling of sough, a rushing sound.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The swell of the sea breaking on the shore: 1685 in Barnhart, the OED and Merriam-Webster, the 1680s in Etymonline.[2][7][8][3]

Semantic evolution

The white foamy water left by a breaking wave is from 1757.[3][7] As a verb it meant to form surf from 1831,[7] and to ride the crest of a wave on a board from 1917.[3][7] Figurative use is by 1957, and surfing the Internet, moving from site to site, by 1993.[3][9]

Timeline

  • 1599 – suffe.[2]
  • 1685 – surf.[2][7]
  • 1757 – foam of breaking waves.[3][7]
  • 1917 – to surf (ride waves).[3][7]
  • 1993 – to surf the Internet.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Waves breaking on the shore or a reef, or the foam they make.

Verb

  1. To ride on waves on a surfboard.
  2. (computing) To move freely from website to website: surf the net.

Word family

  • surfy
  • surfer
  • surfable
  • surflike
  • surfbird
  • surfman
  • surfperch
  • surfriding
  • surge
  • sough
  • surfing

Usage notes

In Northumberland dialect, surf was an adit or horizontal tunnel for draining a mine (compare sough).[10]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  10. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)