browse

Etymology

Middle English browsen, from Old French brouster, broster (“to nibble off buds, sprouts, and bark; browse”), from brost (“a sprout, shoot, bud”), from a Germanic source, perhaps Frankish *brust (“shoot, bud”), from Proto-Germanic *brustiz (“bud, shoot”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrews- (“to swell, sprout”). Cognate with Bavarian Bross, Brosst (“a bud”), Old Saxon brustian (“to sprout”). Doublet of brut, breast, and brush.

verb

1. To scan, to casually look through in order to find items of interest, especially without knowledge of what to look for beforehand.
   I'm just browsing around.
   I stopped in several bookstores to browse.
2. To move about while sampling, such as with food or products on display.
3. (transitive, computing) To navigate through hyperlinked documents on a computer, usually with a browser.
4. (intransitive, of an animal) To move about while eating parts of plants, especially plants other than pasture, such as shrubs or trees.
   Also, when planting to provide a source of browse for wintering deer and elk, protect seedlings from browsing during the first several years; an electric fence enclosure can offer effective protection. 1997, Colorado State Forest Service
5. (archaic, transitive) To feed on, as pasture; to pasture on; to graze.

noun

1. (uncountable) Young shoots and twigs.
2. (uncountable) Fodder for cattle and other animals.
   Also, when planting to provide a source of browse for wintering deer and elk, protect seedlings from browsing during the first several years; an electric fence enclosure can offer effective protection. 1997, Colorado State Forest Service
   In the Panhandle Area, bison eat browse that includes mesquite and elm. 2007, Texas Parks and Wildlife Service
3. (countable) That which one browses through; something to read.
   Here he buried himself in a close-printed, thickish volume which had been his chosen browse for some time. 1899, Rudyard Kipling, Stalky & Co.