to turn pages, especially quickly (usually followed by through): to leaf through a book.
verb (used with object)
to thumb or turn, as the pages of a book or magazine, in a casual or cursory inspection of the contents.
Idioms
in leaf, covered with foliage; having leaves: the pale green tint of the woods newly in leaf.
take a leaf out of/fromsomeone's book, to follow someone's example; imitate: Some countries that took a leaf out of American industry's book are now doing very well for themselves.
turn over a new leaf, to begin anew; make a fresh start: Every New Year's we make resolutions to turn over a new leaf.
Origin of leaf
before 900;Middle Englishleef, lef,Old Englishlēaf; cognate with Dutchloof,GermanLaub,Old Norselauf,Gothiclaufs
Related formsleaf·less, adjectiveleaf·like, adjectiveun·leaf, verb (used with object)un·leaf·like, adjective
the main organ of photosynthesis and transpiration in higher plants, usually consisting of a flat green blade attached to the stem directly or by a stalkRelated adjectives: foliar, foliate
foliage collectively
in leaf(of shrubs, trees, etc) having a full complement of foliage leaves
one of the sheets of paper in a book
a hinged, sliding, or detachable part, such as an extension to a table
metal in the form of a very thin flexible sheetgold leaf
a foil or thin strip of metal in a composite material; lamina
"to turn over (the pages of a book)," 1660s, from leaf (n.). The notion of a book page also is in the phrase to turn over a (new) leaf (1570s). Related: Leafed; leaved; leafing.
leaf
n.
Old English leaf "leaf of a plant; page of a book," from Proto-Germanic *laubaz (cf. Old Saxon lof, Old Norse lauf, Old Frisian laf, Dutch loof, Old High German loub, German Laub "foliage, leaves," Gothic lauf), perhaps from PIE *leup- "to peel off, break off" (cf. Lithuanian luobas, Old Church Slavonic lubu "bark, rind"). Extended 15c. to very thin sheets of metal (especially gold). Meaning "hinged flap on the side of a table" is from 1550s.
An appendage growing from the stem of a plant. Leaves are extremely variable in form and function according to species. For example, the needles of pine trees, the spines of cacti, and the bright red parts of the poinsettia plant are all leaves modified for different purposes. However, most leaves are flat and green and adapted to capturing sunlight and carbon dioxide for photosynthesis. They consist of an outer tissue layer (the epidermis) through which water and gases are exchanged, a spongy inner layer of cells that contain chloroplasts, and veins that supply water and minerals and carry out food. Some leaves are simple, while others are compound, consisting of multiple leaflets. The flat part of the leaf, the blade, is often attached to the stem by a leafstalk.
Turn pages, as in browsing or searching for something. For example, There she sat, leafing through the various catalogs. This expression employs leaf in the sense of “turn over the leaves of a book,” a usage dating from the mid-1600s.
