surf English · revision 15399

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|attested=1685}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /sɜːf/ ''(UK)''; /sɝf/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is probably an alteration of earlier suffe (1599), of uncertain origin, perhaps influenced by [[surge]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(Cresswell 2021)^(NODE 1998) 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;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) others take suff for a phonetic spelling of [[sough]], a rushing sound.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The swell of the sea breaking on the shore: 1685 in Barnhart, the OED and Merriam-Webster, the 1680s in Etymonline.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The white foamy water left by a breaking wave is from 1757.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) As a verb it meant to form surf from 1831,^(OED 1989) and to ride the crest of a wave on a board from 1917.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Figurative use is by 1957, and surfing the Internet, moving from site to site, by 1993.^(Etymonline)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1599 – suffe.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1685 – surf.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1757 – foam of breaking waves.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1917 – to surf (ride waves).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1993 – to surf the Internet.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Waves breaking on the shore or a [[reef]], or the foam they make.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To ride on waves on a [[surfboard]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(computing)'' To move freely from website to website: ''surf the net''.^(Collins 2023)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[surfy]]

+ * [[surfer]]

+ * [[surfable]]

+ * [[surflike]]

+ * [[surfbird]]

+ * [[surfman]]

+ * [[surfperch]]

+ * [[surfriding]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[surge]]

+ * [[sough]]

+ * [[surfing]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Northumberland dialect, surf was an adit or horizontal tunnel for draining a mine (compare [[sough]]).^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}