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Etymology and origin of the English word refresh

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1380 Chaucer's translation of Boethius
Borrowed from
Old French refreschier via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Old French fres

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ɹiˈfɹɛʃ/[1]
  • US: /ɹɪˈfɹɛʃ/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English refresshen, also refreschen,[2][3][4][5] borrowed from Old French refreschier (“to refresh, renew”), also refreschir,[6][7][8][4][3] with the Anglo-Norman form refrescher.[7][2] The French verb is formed from re- (“again”) and fres (“fresh”), feminine fresche,[7][6][9][8] an adjective of Germanic origin related to Old High German frisc (“fresh”) and to English fresh.[6][2][5][10] In Old French it is recorded from the 12th century;[6][7] modern French has rafraîchir.[6][4][8] The noun refresh was formed from the verb in English.[7][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

To make fresh, restore, strengthen: about 1380, in Chaucer's translation of Boethius,[2] and before 1382 in the Wycliffite Bible, of giving fresh strength or energy to a person.[7]

Semantic evolution

Old French already used the verb for restoring strength with rest, food or drink, for supplying fresh provisions, for cooling, and in the 15th century for recalling something to mind,[7] and in Middle English it also meant to give shelter and refreshment to a guest.[6] From before 1398 it meant to replenish; about 1404 it was first used, chiefly at sea, for restocking a ship.[7] About 1425 Lydgate used it for restoring something to a fresh or bright condition,[7] and about 1450 it was used of water or air cooling a place or person.[7] To refresh the memory is recorded from 1542.[2] Johnson (1755) defined the verb first as "to recreate; to relieve after pain, fatigue or want".[11] From 1824 cooks used it for plunging cooked vegetables into cold water.[7] The computing sense of renewing the data on a screen or in a memory is recorded from 1965 for the noun (by 1967 in Etymonline),[7][6] and Collins records the verb for reloading the latest version of a web page.[12]

Timeline

  • c. 1380 – to make fresh, restore, strengthen, in Chaucer's Boece.[2]
  • before 1382 – to give fresh strength or energy to a person.[7]
  • before 1398 – to replenish, keep supplied.[7]
  • c. 1404 – to restock with fresh supplies, chiefly nautical.[7]
  • c. 1425 – to restore to a fresh or bright condition.[7]
  • c. 1450 – of water or air, to cool and freshen.[7]
  • 1542 – to refresh the memory.[2]
  • 1592 – noun, the act of refreshing (obsolete).[7][6]
  • 1644 – intransitive, to take rest or refreshment.[7]
  • 1824 – in cookery, to plunge into cold water.[7]
  • 1965 – noun, the renewing of a display or memory in computing.[7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To make someone feel fresh and vigorous again, as by rest, food or drink; to revive: A cold shower refreshed the hikers.[12][3][7]
  2. To give new life to something worn or faded; to freshen up.[12][7]
  3. To prompt or stimulate the memory: Let me refresh your memory.[12][2]
  4. To replenish or restock, as with fresh supplies.[12][7]
  5. (computing) To reload a web page or document so that it shows the latest version; to update a display.[12][7]
  6. (cookery) To plunge cooked vegetables or herbs into cold water.[7][8]

Noun

  1. (computing) The renewing or updating of the data shown on a screen or held in a memory.[7][8][6]

Word family

  • refreshful
  • refreshfully
  • refresher

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  5. ^ a b Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ 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 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  10. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  11. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  12. ^ a b c d e f Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Refresh.” Etymologically, 26 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/refresh. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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