means To examine, measure, or question something systematically — whether mapping a plot of land, inspecting a building, or collecting people's opinions in a set of questions.

from From the Latin 'super-' (over) plus 'videre' (to see) — literally 'to look over,' a relative of 'vision' and 'view.' It came into English through the Old French 'surveeir,' carrying the idea of overseeing or inspecting. The land-measuring sense came first; the questionnaire sense — looking over a group's opinions — is a much later extension of that same overhead gaze.