read

Etymology 1

From Middle English reden, from Old English rǣdan (“to counsel, advise, consult; interpret, read”), from Proto-West Germanic *rādan, from Proto-Germanic *rēdaną (“advise, counsel”), from Proto-Indo-European *Hreh₁dʰ- (“to arrange”). Cognate with Scots rede, red (“to advise, counsel, decipher, read”), Saterland Frisian räide (“to advise, counsel”), West Frisian riede (“to advise, counsel”), Dutch raden (“to advise; guess, counsel, rede”), German raten (“to advise; guess”), Danish råde (“to advise”), Swedish råda (“to advise, counsel”), Persian رده (rade, “to order, to arrange, class”). The development from ‘advise’ to ‘interpret, interpret letters, read’ is unique to English among Germanic languages. Compare rede.

verb

1. (transitive or intransitive) To look at and interpret letters or other information that is written.
   Have you read this book?
   He doesn’t like to read.
   During the whole time of his abode in the university he generally spent thirteen hours of the day in study; by which assiduity besides an exact dispatch of the whole course of philosophy, he read over in a manner all classic authors that are extant[…] 1661, John Fell, The Life of the most learned, reverend and pious Dr. H. Hammond
   She reads Playgirl magazine, goes to a male-strip joint and then complains about sexual harassment on the job. 1982, Robert M. Evenson, “"Liberated" Woman"”, in The Cincinnati Enquirer
   On this occasion he was carrying in his right hand a copy of the English-language China News, an odd touch because the President did not read English. 1983, James C. H. Shen, “A Round of Calls”, in Robert Myers, editor, The U.S. & Free China: How the U.S. Sold Out Its Ally, Washington, D.C.: Acropolis Books Ltd., page 112
2. (transitive or intransitive) To speak aloud words or other information that is written. (often construed with a to phrase or an indirect object)
   He read us a passage from his new book.
   All right, class, who wants to read next?
   He read the letter aloud. Sophia listened with the studied air of one for whom, even in these days, a title possessed some surreptitious allurement. […] 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest
3. (transitive) To read work(s) written by (a named author).
   At the moment I'm reading Milton.
4. (transitive) To interpret, or infer a meaning, significance, thought, intention, etc., from.
   She read my mind and promptly rose to get me a glass of water.
   I can read his feelings in his face.
5. To consist of certain text.
   On the door hung a sign that reads "No admittance".
   The passage reads differently in the earlier manuscripts.
6. (ergative) Of text, etc., to be interpreted or read in a particular way.
   Arabic reads right to left.
   That sentence reads strangely.
7. (transitive, frequently humorous) To substitute (a corrected piece of text in place of an erroneous one); used to introduce an emendation of a text.
   In Livy, it is nearly certain that for Pylleon we should read Pteleon, as this place is mentioned in connection with Antron. 1832, John Lemprière et al., Bibliotheca classica, Seventh Edition, W. E. Dean, page 263
   Our school focuses primarily on the classical authors (read "dead white males").
8. (informal, usually ironic) Used after a euphemism to introduce the intended, more blunt meaning of a term.
   Eliminate illogical (read: stupid) answer choices. 2009, Suzee Vlk et al., The GRE Test for Dummies, 6th edition, Wiley Publishing, page 191
9. (transitive, telecommunications) To be able to hear what another person is saying over a radio connection.
   Do you read me?
   Hello, HAL. Do you read me, HAL? 1968, Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke, 2001: A Space Odyssey, spoken by Dave Bowman (Keir Dullea)
10. (transitive, rail transport) To observe and comprehend (a displayed signal).
    A repeater signal may be used where the track geometry makes the main signal difficult to read from a distance.
11. (transitive, Commonwealth, except Scotland) To make a special study of, as by perusing textbooks.
    I am reading theology at university.
    Crabbe wanted him to go to England, to read for a degree there. 1956, Anthony Burgess, Time for a Tiger (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 94
12. (computing, transitive) To fetch data from (a storage medium, etc.).
    to read a hard disk
    to read a port
    to read the keyboard
13. (transitive, LGBT) To recognise (someone) as being transgender.
    Every time I go outside, I worry that someone will read me.
14. (at first especially in the black LGBT community) To call attention to the flaws of (someone) in either a playful, a taunting, or an insulting way.
    Snapping, we are told, comes from reading, or exposing hidden flaws in a person's life, and out of reading comes shade […] 1997, Framing Culture: Africanism, Sexuality and Performance, page 186 (also discussing Paris is Burning)
    CB [a black gay person being quoted]: "So, one time I read him and we were standing downstairs at the front desk in the dorm and I read him and there was this little bell […]." In the first example, the interviewee [CB] used snapping to read his white friend in a playful way, […]. 2003, Philip Auslander, Performance: Media and technology, page 179
    [One] assumes that such language contests are racially motivated—black folks talking back to white folks. However, the ball world makes it clear that blacks can read each other too. 2013, Queer Looks, page 114 (discussing Paris is Burning and "the ball world")
15. (go) To imagine sequences of potential moves and responses without actually placing stones.
16. (obsolete) To think, believe; to consider (that).
17. (obsolete) To advise; to counsel. See rede.
18. (obsolete) To tell; to declare; to recite.

noun

1. A reading or an act of reading, especially of an actor's part of a play or a piece of stored data.
   One newswoman here lets magazines for a penny a read. 1879, Frederick James Furnivall, letter to the editor of "The Spectator"
   And when he finishes supper / Planning to have a read at the evening paper / It's Put a screw in this wall— / He has no time at all[…] 1958, Philip Larkin, Self's the Man
   In other words, the system can do 1200 reads per second with no writes, the average write is twice as slow as the average read, and the relationship is linear. 2006, MySQL administrator's guide and language reference, page 393
2. (in combination) Something to be read; a written work.
   His thrillers are always a gripping read.
3. A person's interpretation or impression of something.
   What's your read of the current political situation?
4. (at first especially in the black LGBT community) An instance of reading (“calling attention to someone's flaws; a taunt or insult”).
   [As] Corey points out, "if you and I are both black queens then we can't call each other black queens because that's not a read. That's a [fact]." 1997, Framing Culture: Africanism, Sexuality and Performance, page 186 (also discussing Paris is Burning)
   Like most African-American women, Pearlie Mae uses snapping in many of the same ways that black gay men use it: to accentuate a read. 2003, Philip Auslander, Performance: Media and technology, page 185
   I learned that it was acceptable to be witty, especially if you were one of the wearblackallthetime, deconstructivist, radical, feministbitchydiva girls who could give a harsh read (i.e., critique) or throw shade […]. 2013, bell hooks, Teaching Critical Thinking: Practical Wisdom
5. (biochemistry) The identification of a specific sequence of genes in a genome or bases in a nucleic acid string

Etymology 2

From Middle English redde (simple past), red, rad (past participle), from Old English rǣdde (simple past), (ġe)rǣded (past participle), conjugations of rǣdan (“to read”); see above.

verb

1. inflection of read:
   1. simple past tense
   2. past participle