browser English · revision 15208

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1550}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈbɹaʊ.zə/ ''(UK)''; /ˈbɹaʊ.zəɹ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is an agent noun from [[browse]], formed with [[-er]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Possibly one who feeds deer in winter: 1550 in the OED, a doubtful sense.^(OED 1989) An animal that browses is from 1845,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and Merriam-Webster dates a sense to 1675.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A person who browses among books is from 1863.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) 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.^(Etymonline) Today it means especially software for reading web pages on the [[Internet]].^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1550 – a feeder of deer (?).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1845 – a browsing animal.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1863 – a person who browses books.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1982 – a computer browser.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person who looks casually through books or goods.^(OED 1989)^(Collins 2023)

+ # An animal that feeds on leaves and shoots.^(OED 1989)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(computing)'' A [[software]] program for finding and viewing [[web page|alt=web pages]] and other files.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[nonbrowser]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[browse]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}