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refuel

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Etymology and origin of the English word refuel

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1792 A. Geddes, translation of the Bible More words from the 18th century
Ultimate origins
Anglo-Norman re-Old French fouaille
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English fuel
English refuel

Pronunciation

  • /ɹiːˈfjuːəl/, /ɹiːˈfjuːl/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English re- + fuel, the prefix meaning "again" and the base being the verb fuel.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

To supply with more fuel: 1792, in A. Geddes's translation of the Bible (Leviticus).[2] Merriam-Webster Unabridged also gives 1792,[4] while Etymonline and the Collegiate date it to 1811,[3][5] and Dictionary.com to 1805–15.[6]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline notes that the word was first used in a spiritual sense, and only later of fuel tanks and motor vehicles.[3] The OED likewise records figurative use beside the literal one, and says that the transitive verb is now used chiefly of filling the tank of a car or an aircraft again.[2] The intransitive use, of a ship, an aircraft or a car taking on more fuel, is recorded from 1912, in hearings of a United States Senate committee on interoceanic canals;[2] it was later extended humorously to people taking food.[2]

Timeline

  • 1792 – transitive, to supply with more fuel; also figurative.[2][4]
  • 1912 – intransitive, of a ship, aircraft or car, to take on more fuel; later, of people, to eat.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To fill the fuel tank of a vehicle or aircraft again: The crew refuelled the helicopter on the deck.[7][4][2]
  2. (intransitive) To take on more fuel: The tanker stopped at Gibraltar to refuel.[7][4][2]
  3. (figurative) To renew one's energy, or to eat.[2]

Word family

  • refuelable
  • unrefueled
  • nonrefueling

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Refuel.” Etymologically, 13 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/refuel. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·