Surf

Part of speech: verb, noun

Pronunciation: /sɜːf/

Definitions

1. Engaging in the activity of balancing on a board and maneuvering through ocean waves for sport or recreation
2. The action of riding smoothly on the surface of ocean waves while standing on a board designed for stability; to participate in maneuvering a board on water for fun and excitement; a sport involving gliding on waves that requires both skill and timing to navigate effectively
3. To glide across ocean waves using a specially designed board for sport or leisure ; to travel lightly and swiftly over a surface such as the internet or another medium

Etymology: The noun "surf" for the breaking waves on a shore is much older than the sport. It likely comes from an earlier word, "suff" or "suffe," meaning the inrush of the sea toward the land, and may be linked to "sough," a soft murmuring sound of wind or water. Some have proposed an Indo-Aryan origin, tied to an old name for the coast of India, but that idea is doubtful because no convincing source word has been identified. The verb, meaning to ride waves on a board, dates from 1917, so the sport's name is a fairly modern development. The word's first sense was simply the water itself, not the activity of riding it. The later figurative sense of "surfing" the internet, moving quickly from one page to another, was popularized by Jean Armour Polly.

Synonyms: ride, wave, roll