On the duplicity of "peruse" [duplicate]

Peruse follows the Anglo-Norman peruser - to examine.

Most senses recorded in the OED do refer to a very thorough examination. However the following note, under sense 4c is of great relevance and tends to confirm what @Josh61 reports from Etymoline.

Modern dictionaries and usage guides, perh. influenced by the word's earlier history in English, have sometimes claimed that the only ‘correct’ usage is in reference to reading closely or thoroughly (cf. senses 4a, 4b). However, peruse has been a broad synonym for read since the 16th cent., encompassing both careful and cursory reading; Johnson defined and used it as such. The implication of leisureliness, cursoriness, or haste is therefore not a recent development, although it is usually found in less formal contexts and is less frequent in earlier use (see quot. 1589 for an early example). The specific sense of browsing or skimming emerged relatively recently, generally in ironic or humorous inversion of the formal sense of thoroughness. Cf. scan v. for a similar development and range of senses.

The 1589 extract reads:

1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie i. xxviii. 45 An Epitaph is..pithie, quicke and sententious for the passer by to peruse, and iudge vpon without any long tariaunce.

And more recently:> >

2003 Nation (N.Y.) 9 June 26/2 Perusing its promotional materials, you might get the idea the pharmaceutical industry is a nonprofit research operation out to save the human race.

There appears to be no plausible reason why the term developed to mean also to browse, to skim but it is used with both meaning, and care should be taken not to give rise to misunderstanding.

Peruse: (Etymonline)

• late 15c., "use up, wear out, go through," from Middle English per- "completely" (see per) + use (v.).Meaning "read carefully" is first recorded 1530s, but this could be a separate formation. Meaning "read casually" is from 19c.

Peruse: (Grammarist)

• The traditional definition of peruse is to read thoroughly or with great care. It does not traditionally mean to skim, to look through, or to browse. All authoritative English reference sources agree on this. But peruse is so often used as a synonym of browse that this secondary definition may someday gain acceptance. The change is not yet fully established, though, and many people still think of this newer use of peruse as wrong.

• The word first appeared around the the end of the 15th century. It was formed by adding the prefix per-, which then meant thoroughly, to the verb use, so its original sense was to use thoroughly. The sense to go through carefully or examine developed soon thereafter. Examples of peruse used in the newer sense (to browse or to skim) are easily found in sources from the middle 20th century, but they are rare or nonexistent before then.

• Writers in this century often use peruse to mean simply view or observe, suggesting neither thoroughness nor quickness. In these cases, the word is vague because we can’t know whether the author means it in the older sense or the newer one. It often could be taken to mean to look through at one’s own pace, to look through while one is passing through, to look through when one has enough time, or to look through while engaged in something else.