# To browse (through)...



## ThomasK

You know that: just browsing through books, etc., without really looking for something. It implies some kind of non-commitment, of freedom, like shopping, like surfing. How do you translate that?

In Dutch we have: 
- *grasduinen *(grass-duning, where the dune seems to refer the hill as a place of abundance ! ;-))
- *snuffelen *(sniff around, like a dog)
- *neuzen *(nosing literally)


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## LilianaB

Hi, Thomas. I think there is a word: _szpera__ć_ in Polish. It might be colloquial, or regional. It means something similar, but it would not apply in all of your phrases. The best location for _szpera_*ć* would be a drawer, a barn, some other places with multiple, odd items collected.


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## ThomasK

Could you pin it down to some root? Also browsing? You know any kind of searching without specific goal would do...


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## apmoy70

Hi TK,

In Greek the generic term for it, is «περιήγηση» [peri'iʝisi] (fem.) --> _browsing_, while the verb is «περιηγούμαι» [peri.i'ɣume] --> _to browse_; it's a Classical compound verb: preposition & prefix «περὶ» pĕ'rĭ --> _about, around_ (PIE base *per-, _through, across, beyond_) + verb «ἡγέομαι/ἡγοῦμαι» hē'gĕŏmæ [uncontracted]/hē'goumæ [contracted] --> _to lead, command in war_ (PIE base *sag-, _to track down, trace, seek_). Browser is «περιηγητής» [peri.iʝi'tis] (masc.); its literal meaning is _"one who guides strangers, the cicerone/guide" _(i.e. the person conducting visitors and sightseers to museums, galleries, etc., and explains matters of archaeological, historic, artistic interest).
 When we are looking for something specific then the verb we use is «ψάχνω» ['psaxno] --> _to search, rummage_ < Byz. «ψάχω» ['psaxo] < Classical Gr. «ψαύω» 'psauō --> _to touch_ (with obscure etymology; Hoffmann suggests from PIE base *bʰ(e)sēu-, _to rub_)

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all


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## ThomasK

Is that really a military metaphor? Does this leave freedom to the explorer? This reminds me of spies who know the way, and then guide the others. In this case, 'grasduinen', it is more like looking thourgh things, somehow hoping, but just have a look at things that might perhaps be interesting. Is that what your word means? 

_psaxo: _I suppose they have in common that they touch and often go... (BTW: is it related with _psalm _by the way? ]


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## ancalimon

Turkish:

We would use the verb "karıştır" meaning "mix" in Turkish for "browsing through books"


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## bibax

Czech:

*listovati*, *prolistovati *= to leaf through;
derived from the noun *list* = leaf (on the tree, in a book), sheet;

For browsing the Internet we use the verb *brouzdati *(for its similarity with the English verb: the first syllable *brouz*- is pronounced similarly like *browse*; the verbs however are not cognates and have different meaning).

_Brouzdati_ means to move the feet about in shallow water, to paddle (like the children do in the _paddling pool_ = _brouzdaliště_), usually watching the bottom and hoping to find something valuable or to see something interesting.


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## ThomasK

Interesting contributions, thanks. I am still wondering about the Turkish word _karıştır: _how could you use it in other, non-metaphorical ways? I don't see the link between mixing and searching, or browsing, or is it something like rummaging - or does it refer to the result (everything 'mixed up')?


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## tFighterPilot

Hebrew (modern, obviously) has a verb just for it, דיפדף /difdéf/. It comes from the word דף /daf/ which means paper.


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## apmoy70

ThomasK said:


> Is that really a military metaphor? Does this leave freedom to the explorer? This reminds me of spies who know the way, and then guide the others. In this case, 'grasduinen', it is more like looking thourgh things, somehow hoping, but just have a look at things that might perhaps be interesting. Is that what your word means?


 No, «περιηγητής» is not military related. The verb «ἡγοῦμαι» though -which with «περί» forms the compound «περιηγοῦμαι»- is military related as it means amongst others, _to command in war_. «Περιηγοῦμαι» literally means _to guide others_; the noun «περιήγησις» in Byzantine Greek came to define the activity of tourism (for recreational purposes, or _Itinerarium_ in Latin), and «περιηγητής» was the tourist; nowadays the verb is used (99 out of 100 times) to describe the browsing through the internet/books, and «περιηγητής» is the web browser. «Περιηγητής» is used in parallel with «πλοηγός» [plo.i'ɣos] (masc.) for browser; the latter is a modern construction (1858) and means _navigator, (ship's) pilot_; compound, «πλοῖον» 'plœŏn (neut.) --> _ship_ (PIE base *pleu-, _to flow, float_) + v. «ἡγοῦμαι»



ThomasK said:


> _psaxo: _I suppose they have in common that they touch and often go... (BTW: is it related with _psalm _by the way? ]


They might be related (the etymology of both «ψάχω» & «ψάλλω» is obscure). Psalm (in Gr. «Ψαλμός») comes from the verb «ψάλλω» which was a technical term --> _to pluck the strings of a musical instrument_; the 72 scholars who translated the Hebrew sacred books into Koine Greek (Septuagint) used «ψαλμός» («ψαλμοί» in pl.) in order to render the Hebrew תְהִלִּים (Tehillim, or _songs of praise_), especially the sort sung by David to the harp. «Ψάλλω» in Byzantine and MG came to mean _to chant in Church_ (it's used strictly within religious context, or when the National Anthem is _chanted_; we don't sing our Anthem, we chant it)


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## LilianaB

ThomasK said:


> Could you pin it down to some root? Also browsing? You know any kind of searching without specific goal would do...



Hi, Thomas. Unfortunately I do not know the etymology of _szperać_ -- I even tried to do some research, but all I found was _unknown_. All I found is this http://pl.wiktionary.org/wiki/szperanie. Maybe some people from the Polish forum would know more about its etymology and use, especially in relation to the internet.


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## arielipi

@tfighter, i would like to correct.
difdef is strictly for books[=pages], daf is paper. also for pages is il'el, though it is not pure freedom, there is some degree of purpose, like looking for a sentence you remember or such.
The general is rifref, for switching between channels its zipzep, and i think there are more but i cant remember.


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## ThomasK

That is an interesting link: with zapping (or is that just a coincidence)? What does _rifref _mean precisely?


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## arielipi

zipzep comes from zap indeed, probably because in the old televisions, every time you switched channel it would do that annoying sound.

also there are:
sakar - which is more purposed than ilel, sakar is with interest; its like to review,cover.

iyen - this is pure purpose looking, the opposite of free browsing.
ilel also can show some degree of interest.
golesh - translation of browse,surf the web, with context can be free purpose.
and of course - adding the word stam with any of the above or with any of the see/look words gives free purpose.

rifref is to move quickly between point a to point b(though not your body, the object you are using), like moving pages [=turning pages, from page 7 to page 70].
this is what wikimilon gives:



waver‏, flutter‏‏‏‏
hover‏‏‏‏
skim‏‏‏‏

ערבית: رفرف‏‏‏‏


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## ThomasK

is the repetition some kind of iterative form of the verb? 

The rest is quite interesting. If you could tell me more about the roots of those Hebrew verbs, please do.


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## arielipi

what do you mean repetition?
format , due to the many verbs will be as follow:
verb in hebrew : root : source root/word : translation to english

rifref : rfrf doubling the -> : rff : to flutter, to hover ; to glance at , to scan
difdef : dfdf : df? : to leaf, to turn pages, to browse, to thumb through
ilel : ilel (i,e are both ayin) : aleh = leaf : to leaf, to browse
iyen : iyn : null  : to study, to read ; to consider, to weigh
golesh : g l sh : null : surf,browse the web ; though traditionally it is surfing waves 
sakar : skr : null : scan, cover, review
zipzep : zpzp : zap : to switch between channels. come to think of it - it is more like switching between modes of an electrical entertaining machine, songs in mp, channels in television, though it cannot be said about radio channels.

also there is something for doing and constantly switching between activities [= not social, the everyday/work ones], but that is not really purposeless.
EDIT: ^ is letazez : tzz : null : doing back and forth like a maniac 

does that elaborate enough about the roots?


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## ThomasK

Yes, it does, thanks. Great. As for repetition: I thought _rifrf, difdef_, were kind of repetitions with variations of the same root, expressing repitition of some kind.


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## ThomasK

LilianaB said:


> Hi, Thomas. Unfortunately I do not know the etymology of _szperać_ -- I even tried to do some research, but all I found was _unknown_. All I found is this http://pl.wiktionary.org/wiki/szperanie. Maybe some people from the Polish forum would know more about its etymology and use, especially in relation to the internet.



Here it is: 





> From old High German _spieren _or _spüren_, to search.​


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## tFighterPilot

ThomasK said:


> Yes, it does, thanks. Great. As for repetition: I thought _rifrf, difdef_, were kind of repetitions with variations of the same root, expressing repitition of some kind.


The piel form can't handle two clusters root, it needs three (in this case D,FD,F). This has sometimes been done by duplicating the whole word, like in these examples, or by duplicating only the last consonant, like with the English word Flirt who turned into the Hebrew verb Flirtet.


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## ThomasK

So no extra meaning (like iterative verb)?


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## tFighterPilot

ThomasK said:


> So no extra meaning (like iterative verb)?


None at all.


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## mataripis

to browse reminds me "Eye brows"  .In Tagalog, it is "bumasa" or "basahin" (to read)   or could be  "Tignang maigi"  (thorough observation).others used " Kilatisin"  "suriin".(analyze and inspect respectively).


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## ancalimon

ThomasK said:


> Interesting contributions, thanks. I am still wondering about the Turkish word _karıştır: _how could you use it in other, non-metaphorical ways? I don't see the link between mixing and searching, or browsing, or is it something like rummaging - or does it refer to the result (everything 'mixed up')?



When you want to look for something specific, you first mix things (as if trying to find a puzzle piece). Even if you are not trying to look for something, we still would use the verb "karıştır".

For example

Gazeteleri karıştırdı. (He browsed through the newspaper)

We can use "karıştır" in many different situations.

Çayı karıştırdı: (he added sugar to the tea and mixed it using a spoon)
Ortalığı karıştırdı (he stirred up trouble to his surroundings)
Beni başkasıyla karıştırdı (he has mistaken me for someone else)

We also use the verb "tara". Actually the word "browser" is translated to Turkish as "tarayıcı". But it's usually used for trying to find something specific.

tara means comb, search, scan, sweep or ;(for example to shoot many bullets using an automatic gun to a location, or a radar trying to detect the location of a vehicle)


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## ThomasK

Very interesting! This use of mixing here is very special but I am beginning to see the light. The concept 'behind' tara is quite interesting as well; we could use _afschuimen _something , which implies that someone searches markets (...) in search for something, just the way someone takes the head off the bear, which is very tasty...


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