To ride on waves using a surfboard, or to browse through information casually, especially on the internet.
Originally from an uncertain source, possibly from obsolete 'sough' meaning the sound of wind or waves. The internet meaning emerged in the 1990s as a metaphor, comparing browsing websites to riding waves.
The term 'surfing the web' was coined by librarian Jean Armour Polly in 1992, inspired by her mouse pad featuring a surfer. She felt the metaphor captured the sense of skill, randomness, and excitement involved in navigating the early internet.
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