Search
/sɜːrtʃ/noun
To look carefully and systematically for someone or something.
Did you know?English search comes through Old French from Latin *circare*, meaning “to go around,” from *circus* — so a “search” was originally a circling, as if you were tracing the hidden thing by orbiting it.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*sker-
“to turn, bend, or curve”
Latin
Latin
circus
“a circle, ring, or circular place”
Late Latin
Latin
circare
“to go around, wander about”
Old French
Old French
cerchier
“to search for, look for, inspect”
Middle English
English
serchen
“to search, examine carefully”
Modern English
English
search
“to look carefully and systematically for someone or something”
Explore more surprising origins