Advertisement

Origin and history of browser

browser(n.)

1845, "animal which browses," agent noun from browse (v.). From 1863 as "person who browses" among books. In the computer sense by 1982.

The first browser was invented at PARC by Larry Tesler, now a designer at Apple Computer. Tesler's first Smalltalk browser was a tree-structured device. It enabled programmers to hunt quickly for items in a Smalltalk dictionary. [InfoWorld magazine, vol. v, no. 4, Jan. 24, 1983]

also from 1845

Entries linking to browser

browse(v.)

mid-15c., brousen, "feed on buds, eat leaves or twigs from" trees or bushes, from Old French broster "to sprout, bud," from brost "young shoot, twig, green food fit for cattle or deer," probably from Proto-Germanic *brust- "bud, shoot," from PIE *bhreus- "to swell, sprout" (see breast (n.)). It lost its -t in English perhaps on the mistaken notion that the letter was a past-participle inflection. The figurative extension to "peruse" (books) is 1870s, American English. Related: Browsed; browsing.

    Advertisement

    More to explore

    web
    Web browser, web page both also attested 1990....
    application
    early 15c., "the bringing of something to bear on something else," from Old French aplicacion (14c.), from Latin applicationem (nominative applicatio) "a joining to, an attaching oneself to; relation of a client to a patron," noun of action from past-participle stem of applicare
    looker
    Old English locere "one engaged in looking," agent noun from look (v.). Meaning "one who watches over" is from c. 1300. Sense of "one who has a certain appearance" is late 15c.; slang meaning "attractive woman" attested from 1893 (good-looker is attested from 1866, both of women
    spectator
    "one who looks on, a beholder," 1580s, from Latin spectator "viewer, watcher," agent noun from past-participle stem of spectare "to view, watch" (see spectacle). Related: Spectatorial; spectatorship. Fem. form spectatress (1630s) is less classically correct than spectatrix (1610s
    review
    mid-15c., review, revewe, reveue, "a formal inspection of military forces" by a higher official or superior in rank, to judge the effectiveness of their training, from Old French reveue "a reviewing, review" (Modern French revue), noun use of fem. past participle of reveeir "to s
    discrepancy
    "variance or contrariety, especially of facts or sentiments," mid-15c. (discrepauns, discrepance), from Latin discrepantia "discordance, discrepancy," from discrepantem (nominative discrepans), present participle of discrepare "sound differently, differ," from dis- "apart, off" (
    reparation
    late 14c., reparacioun, "repair, act of mending" (a sense now rare or obsolete), also "amends, compensation, recompense, satisfaction for injury, what is done to repair a wrong," from Old French reparacion and directly from Late Latin reparationem (nominative reparatio) "act of r
    crown
    early 12c., coroune, croune, "royal crown, ornament for the head as a symbol of sovereignty," from Anglo-French coroune, Old French corone (13c., Modern French couronne) and directly from Latin corona "crown," originally "wreath, garland," related to Greek korōnē "anything curved
    jealous
    c. 1200, gelus, later jelus, "possessive and suspicious," originally in the context of sexuality or romance (in any context from late 14c.), from Old French jalos/gelos "keen, zealous; avaricious; jealous" (12c., Modern French jaloux), from Late Latin zelosus, from zelus "zeal,"
    simile
    "a comparison of two things in rhetoric or poetry," late 14c., from Latin simile "a like thing; a comparison, likeness, parallel," neuter of similis "like, resembling, of the same kind" (see similar). They must have notable points in common, both things must be mentioned, and the

    Share browser

    Advertisement
    Trending
    Dictionary entries near browser
    Advertisement