To read or examine something carefully and thoroughly.
From Middle English 'perusen,' possibly from 'per-' (through) plus 'use.' Some scholars link it to Middle Dutch 'brusen.' The meaning has shifted from examining hastily to reading carefully.
Many people think 'peruse' means to skim quickly, but it actually means the opposite—to read carefully! This is a common case of a word's meaning flipping over time, called semantic change.
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