sift

Etymology

From Middle English syften, from Old English siftan, from Proto-West Germanic *siftijan.

verb

1. To sieve or strain (something).
2. To separate or scatter (things) as if by sieving.
3. To examine (something) carefully.
   1. [+object] (archaic or old-fashioned) To scrutinise (someone or something) carefully so as to find the truth.
      But if we still carry on our sifting humour, and ask, What is the foundation of all conclusions from experience ? this implies a new question. 1748, David Hume, Enquiries concerning the human understanding and concerning the principles of moral, London: Oxford University Press, published 1973, § 28
      It immediately occurred to him to sift her on the subject of Isabella and Theodore. 1764, Horace Walpole, The Castle of Otranto, Strawberry Hill Press
   2. [+ through (object)] To carefully go through a set of objects, or a collection of information, in order to find something.
      Sifting through the work of great orators like Philostratus and Quintilian they identify numerous examples of classical irony, metaphor, comparison, etc. which are missing in Paul. 1996, Timothy B. Savage, Power Through Weakness: Paul's Understanding of the Christian Ministry in 2 Corinthians, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, page 70
4. (computing, dated) To move data records up in memory to make space to insert further records.