PERUSE

[Dr. Goodword]

• peruse •

Pronunciation: pê-ruz • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Verb, transitive

Meaning: To read and consider thoroughly.

Notes: Today's Good Word may already be an oxymoron, a word with two antonymous meanings, for many people in the US use it to mean "glance over quickly without thinking". 66% of the experts on the American Heritage Dictionary committee think the meaning "glance over quickly" is inappropriate. Dr. Goodword tends to agree that it is best to keep this a monosemantic (one-meaning) word. Oxymora too often lead to perverse misunderstandings. The noun is perusal.

In Play: Remember, we are trying to avoid the new meaning for this word creeping into US usage: "Honey, I've glanced over these insurance documents but haven't had time to peruse them. Could I sign them later?" Remember, peruse means to read thoroughly: "No, officer, I must admit I haven't perused all the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; I have only skimmed over a few."

Word History: Peruse comes from the Latin prefix per- "thoroughly, through and through" (from the preposition per "through") + usus "used", the past participle of the irregular verb uti "to use". We don't find a complete parent, such as *peruti, in Classical Latin; it only begins showing up in post-Classical Latin in Britain in the 14th century. Norman French by that time had developed peruser "to examine, interrogate", the direct origin of today's Good Word. The meaning of the French word apparently developed into "examine a book carefully" in English. (Now that you have perused today's Good Word, let's all thank Carol Ann Kopp for suggesting it.)

[Perry]

Peruse comes from the Latin prefix per- "thoroughly, through and through" (from the preposition per "through") + usus "used", the past participle of the irregular verb uti "to use".

Sometimes I feel well perused. Other times there is still some of me left.

[Stargzer]

... We don't find a complete parent, such as *peruti, in Classical Latin; it only begins showing up in post-Classical Latin in Britain in the 14th century. ...

However, a search for *peruti finds a Slovene noun:

Second
This declension consists of feminine nouns that end in a consonant. The model noun for this declension is perut, the wing of a bird.

Feminine Second Declension
Number
Case / Singular / Dual / Plural
Nominative (1) / perut / peruti / peruti
Genitive (2) / peruti / peruti / peruti
Dative (3) / peruti / perutma / perutim
Accusative (4) / perut / peruti / peruti
Locative (5) (pri/o) / peruti / perutih / perutih
Instrumental (6) (z) / perutjo / perutma / perutmi

It also appears as a last name in a Yahoo search. In Italian, Paruti is the last name of a college classmate of mine from Bilgewater, MA.

[Perry]

Peruti well researched.