Scan and Skim :



Those who insist that “scan” can never be a synonym of “skim” have lost the battle.


It is true that the word originally meant “to scrutinize,” but it has now evolved into one of those unfortunate words with two opposite meanings: to examine closely (now rare) and to glance at quickly (much more common).


It would be difficult to say which of these two meanings is more prominent in the computer-related usage, to “scan a document.”