Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Read \Read\, n.
   Rennet. See 3d {Reed}. [Prov. Eng.]

Read \Read\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Read}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Reading}.] [OE. reden, r[ae]den, AS. r[=ae]dan to read,
   advice, counsel, fr. r[=ae]d advise, counsel, r[=ae]dan
   (imperf. reord) to advice, counsel, guess; akin to D. raden
   to advise, G. raten, rathen, Icel. r[=a][eth]a, Goth.
   r[=e]dan (in comp.), and perh. also to Skr. r[=a]dh to
   succeed. [root]116. Cf. Riddle.]
   1. To advise; to counsel. [Obs.] See {Rede}.

            Therefore, I read thee, get to God's word, and
            thereby try all doctrine.             --Tyndale.

   2. To interpret; to explain; as, to read a riddle.

   3. To tell; to declare; to recite. [Obs.]

            But read how art thou named, and of what kin.
                                                  --Spenser.

   4. To go over, as characters or words, and utter aloud, or
      recite to one's self inaudibly; to take in the sense of,
      as of language, by interpreting the characters with which
      it is expressed; to peruse; as, to read a discourse; to
      read the letters of an alphabet; to read figures; to read
      the notes of music, or to read music; to read a book.

            Redeth [read ye] the great poet of Itaille.
                                                  --Chaucer.

            Well could he rede a lesson or a story. --Chaucer.

   5. Hence, to know fully; to comprehend.

            Who is't can read a woman?            --Shak.

   6. To discover or understand by characters, marks, features,
      etc.; to learn by observation.

            An armed corse did lie, In whose dead face he read
            great magnanimity.                    --Spenser.

            Those about her From her shall read the perfect ways
            of honor.                             --Shak.

   7. To make a special study of, as by perusing textbooks; as,
      to read theology or law.

   {To read one's self in}, to read about the Thirty-nine
      Articles and the Declaration of Assent, -- required of a
      clergyman of the Church of England when he first
      officiates in a new benefice.

Read \Read\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Read}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Reading}.] [OE. reden, r[ae]den, AS. r[=ae]dan to read,
   advice, counsel, fr. r[=ae]d advise, counsel, r[=ae]dan
   (imperf. reord) to advice, counsel, guess; akin to D. raden
   to advise, G. raten, rathen, Icel. r[=a][eth]a, Goth.
   r[=e]dan (in comp.), and perh. also to Skr. r[=a]dh to
   succeed. [root]116. Cf. Riddle.]
   1. To advise; to counsel. [Obs.] See {Rede}.

            Therefore, I read thee, get to God's word, and
            thereby try all doctrine.             --Tyndale.

   2. To interpret; to explain; as, to read a riddle.

   3. To tell; to declare; to recite. [Obs.]

            But read how art thou named, and of what kin.
                                                  --Spenser.

   4. To go over, as characters or words, and utter aloud, or
      recite to one's self inaudibly; to take in the sense of,
      as of language, by interpreting the characters with which
      it is expressed; to peruse; as, to read a discourse; to
      read the letters of an alphabet; to read figures; to read
      the notes of music, or to read music; to read a book.

            Redeth [read ye] the great poet of Itaille.
                                                  --Chaucer.

            Well could he rede a lesson or a story. --Chaucer.

   5. Hence, to know fully; to comprehend.

            Who is't can read a woman?            --Shak.

   6. To discover or understand by characters, marks, features,
      etc.; to learn by observation.

            An armed corse did lie, In whose dead face he read
            great magnanimity.                    --Spenser.

            Those about her From her shall read the perfect ways
            of honor.                             --Shak.

   7. To make a special study of, as by perusing textbooks; as,
      to read theology or law.

   {To read one's self in}, to read about the Thirty-nine
      Articles and the Declaration of Assent, -- required of a
      clergyman of the Church of England when he first
      officiates in a new benefice.

Read \Read\, n. [AS. r[=ae]d counsel, fr. r[=ae]dan to counsel.
   See {Read}, v. t.]
   1. Saying; sentence; maxim; hence, word; advice; counsel. See
      {Rede}. [Obs.]

   2. [{Read}, v.] Reading. [Colloq.] --Hume.

            One newswoman here lets magazines for a penny a
            read.                                 --Furnivall.

Read \Read\, a.
   Instructed or knowing by reading; versed in books; learned.

         A poet . . . well read in Longinus.      --Addison.

Read \Read\,
   imp. & p. p. of {Read}, v. t. & i.

Read \Read\, v. t.
   1. To give advice or counsel. [Obs.]

   2. To tell; to declare. [Obs.] --Spenser.

   3. To perform the act of reading; to peruse, or to go over
      and utter aloud, the words of a book or other like
      document.

            So they read in the book of the law of God
            distinctly, and gave the sense.       --Neh. viii.
                                                  8.

   4. To study by reading; as, he read for the bar.

   5. To learn by reading.

            I have read of an Eastern king who put a judge to
            death for an iniquitous sentence.     --Swift.

   6. To appear in writing or print; to be expressed by, or
      consist of, certain words or characters; as, the passage
      reads thus in the early manuscripts.

   7. To produce a certain effect when read; as, that sentence
      reads queerly.

   {To read between the lines}, to infer something different
      from what is plainly indicated; to detect the real meaning
      as distinguished from the apparent meaning.

Source : WordNet®

read
     n : something that is read; "the article was a very good read"

read
     v 1: interpret something that is written or printed; "read the
          advertisement"; "Have you read Salman Rushdie?"
     2: have or contain a certain wording or form; "The passage
        reads as follows"; "What does the law say?" [syn: {say}]
     3: look at, interpret, and say out loud something that is
        written or printed; "The King will read the proclamation
        at noon"
     4: obtain data from magnetic tapes; "This dictionary can be
        read by the computer" [syn: {scan}]
     5: interpret the significance of, as of palms, tea leaves,
        intestines, the sky, etc.; also of human behavior; "She
        read the sky and predicted rain"; "I can't read his
        strange behavior"; "The gypsy read his fate in the crystal
        ball"
     6: interpret something in a certain way; convey a particular
        meaning or impression; "I read this address as a satire";
        "How should I take this message?"; "You can't take credit
        for this!" [syn: {take}]
     7: indicate a certain reading; of gauges and instruments; "The
        thermometer showed thirteen degrees below zero"; "The
        gauge read `empty'" [syn: {register}, {show}, {record}]
     8: be a student of a certain subject; "She is reading for the
        bar exam" [syn: {learn}, {study}, {take}]
     9: audition for a stage role by reading parts of a role; "He is
        auditioning for `Julius Cesar' at Stratford this year"
     10: to hear and understand; "I read you loud and clear!"
     11: make sense of a language; "She understands French"; "Can you
         read Greek?" [syn: {understand}, {interpret}, {translate}]