Etymologically
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storage

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 23:18. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈstɔː.rɪdʒ/, US /ˈstɔːr.ɪdʒ/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from the verb store and the suffix -age.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Capacity or space for storing: 1612–13 in the OED,[5] about 1613 in Merriam-Webster,[3] the 1610s in Etymonline.[2]

Semantic evolution

A place where something is stored, and rent paid for warehousing, are from 1775.[5][2] The action of storing, or the state of being stored, is from 1828,[5] in American English in Etymonline.[2] Cold storage is from 1877.[5] In electricity, the storing of energy is from 1881, as in storage battery.[5] In computing, the keeping of data and instructions in a device is from 1909 in the OED[5] and by 1945 in Etymonline.[2] A storage unit as a piece of household furniture is attested from 1951.[2]

Timeline

  • 1612–13 – space for storing.[5]
  • 1775 – a storehouse; warehouse rent.[5][2]
  • 1828 – the act of storing.[5]
  • 1877 – cold storage.[5]
  • 1881 – storage battery.[5]
  • 1909 – computer storage.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The act of storing goods, or the state of being stored.
  2. A space for storing things.
  3. The price charged for keeping goods in a warehouse.
  4. The part of a computer that holds data and programs; memory.

Word family

  • nonstorage
  • prestorage
  • auxiliary storage
  • cold storage
  • secondary storage
  • storage cell
  • storage organ
  • storage battery

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 d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press