download English · revision 3926

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=1977|origins=en down load}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˌdaʊnˈləʊd/, US /ˈdaʊn.loʊd/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a compound [[af|en|down|load]].^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The action of transferring data from the storage of a larger system to that of a smaller one: 1977, as a noun in the OED and Merriam-Webster^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate) and as the process in Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The verb is from 1979 in Merriam-Webster^(MWU 2024) and 1980 in the OED,^(OED 1989) and ''downloading'' and ''downloadable'' from 1982.^(OED 1989) The noun also came to mean the item downloaded, as a file or program.^(MW Collegiate) The American Heritage also gives the general sense “to unload”.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1977 – noun, a transfer of data.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1979 – verb.^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1982 – ''downloadable''.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To transfer [[data]] or programs from a central computer or network to another computer or device.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To unload.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # An act of downloading, or the file or program downloaded.^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[downloadable]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[down]]

+ * [[load]]

+ * [[upload]]

+ * [[offload]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}