Etymologically
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recharge

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Pronunciation

  • /ɹiːˈtʃɑː(ɹ)dʒ/, /ˈɹiːtʃɑː(ɹ)dʒ/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English re- + charge,[2][3][4][5] perhaps partly after Anglo-Norman recharger, recorded in Old French from about 1165 as rechargier.[2][3][6] The Anglo-Norman verb, recorded from the early 12th century, meant among other things to reload a ship.[7] It is first recorded as Middle English rechargen.[8] The noun, also formed from re- and the noun charge, probably follows recharge, recorded in Middle French from 1433.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

To reload a ship, or goods into a ship: 1432, in the Rolls of Parliament, of ships that had been "discharged and recharged".[2][8] Barnhart also has a figurative sense, to restore, probably before 1430.[4]

Semantic evolution

From loading a ship the verb spread to refilling a vessel or container; from 1658 it was also used of reloading a weapon.[2] In the 16th and 17th centuries it also meant to accuse in return (1566 to 1717),[2] the sense Johnson (1755) gave first;[9] from 1598 it also meant to charge again in battle.[2][10] The electrical sense, to restore the charge of a battery, is recorded from 1774 in the OED,[2] from 1876 in Barnhart and Etymonline;[4][3] the battery itself has been said to recharge since 1897.[2] From the same year people too were said to recharge their energy, and to recharge one's batteries is to rest and recover strength.[2][11] In hydrology, since 1942, the verb has meant to replenish the water in an aquifer, and the noun was used of this from 1907.[2] Etymonline suggests that the general sense "put in a fresh charge, refill", by 1839, may be a new formation from the same parts.[3]

Timeline

  • 1432 – to reload a ship.[2][8]
  • c. 1543 – noun, a fresh charge.[2]
  • 1566 – to accuse in return (obsolete by 1717).[2]
  • 1598 – to charge again in battle.[2][10]
  • 1658 – to reload a weapon.[2]
  • 1774 – to restore an electric charge to a battery.[2]
  • 1897 – of a battery, to become charged again; of a person, to regain energy.[2]
  • 1907 – noun, the replenishment of an aquifer.[2]
  • 1942 – verb, to replenish an aquifer.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To restore the electrical charge of a battery or device by connecting it to a power supply: I recharge my phone overnight.[11][10][2]
  2. Of a battery or device, to take up a charge again.[2][10]
  3. To restore one's energy or strength, especially in recharge one's batteries: A week by the sea recharged her.[11][2]
  4. To put a fresh charge or load in; to reload or refill.[10][2][5]
  5. To charge again, as in an attack: The cavalry wheeled and recharged.[10][2]
  6. To make a new accusation against someone.[2]
  7. (hydrology) To replenish the water in an aquifer.[2][5]

Noun

  1. The act of recharging something, such as a battery.[10][2]
  2. (hydrology) The replenishment of the water in an aquifer.[2][10]

Word family

  • rechargeable
  • recharger

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 29 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  5. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  7. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  8. ^ a b c Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  9. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  11. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins