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rechargeable

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Etymology and origin of the English word rechargeable

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1883 a United States patent More words from the 19th century
Ultimate origins
Anglo-Norman re-,-ableOld French chargier
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English charge
English recharge
English rechargeable
From the same root
English charger ← charge
English overcharge ← charge

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌriːˈtʃɑːdʒəbl/[1]
  • US: /riˈtʃɑrdʒəb(ə)l/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English recharge + -able.[1][2] Dictionary.com analyses it instead as re- and chargeable.[3] The OED compares French rechargeable, recorded in French by 1845.[1] The verb recharge goes back to the 15th century, when it meant to reload a ship;[1][2] it is formed from the same prefix and charge, perhaps partly after Old French rechargier and recharger.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

That can be reloaded or refilled, and so used again: 1883, in a United States patent.[1] Etymonline dates the word to 1901, of batteries, and notes earlier use in financial accounts;[2] Merriam-Webster Unabridged gives 1907 as its first known use,[4] and Dictionary.com 1945–50.[3]

Semantic evolution

The adjective followed the verb recharge, which was used of restoring an electric charge to a battery from 1774, in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society,[1] or from 1876 in Etymonline's dating.[2] The word became a noun in the mid-20th century: a rechargeable is a battery or device that can be recharged, first recorded in Popular Science in 1960.[1][5]

Timeline

  • 1883 – that can be reloaded or refilled for further use.[1] Etymonline dates the battery sense to 1901.[2]
  • 1960 – noun, a battery or device that can be recharged.[1]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Able to be recharged, especially of a battery that can be charged again and reused: a rechargeable torch.[4][1][5]
  2. That can be reloaded or refilled for further use.[1]

Noun

  1. A rechargeable battery or device.[1][5]

Word family

  • rechargeability

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
Cite this entry

“Rechargeable.” Etymologically, 12 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/rechargeable. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·