Etymologically
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This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 20:38. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˌdaʊnˈləʊd/, US /ˈdaʊn.loʊd/[1]

Etymology

It is a compound from English down + load.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The action of transferring data from the storage of a larger system to that of a smaller one: 1977, as a noun in the OED and Merriam-Webster[4][5] and as the process in Etymonline.[2]

Semantic evolution

The verb is from 1979 in Merriam-Webster[3] and 1980 in the OED,[4] and downloading and downloadable from 1982.[4] The noun also came to mean the item downloaded, as a file or program.[5] The American Heritage also gives the general sense “to unload”.[6]

Timeline

  • 1977 – noun, a transfer of data.[4][2]
  • 1979 – verb.[3]
  • 1982 – downloadable.[4]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To transfer data or programs from a central computer or network to another computer or device.
  2. To unload.

Noun

  1. An act of downloading, or the file or program downloaded.

Word family

  • downloadable
  • down
  • load
  • upload
  • offload

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin