To charge can mean to ask someone to pay a price, to accuse someone of a crime, to rush forward quickly, or to fill something with power, like a battery. The meaning depends on the situation.
From Old French 'chargier' meaning 'to load, burden, accuse', from Late Latin 'carricare' meaning 'to load a wagon', from 'carrus' (wagon). The idea of loading expanded from physical weight to duties, costs, and energy.
All the different meanings—billing, attacking, accusing, powering up—come from one image: loading something up. Whether it’s a credit card, a soldier, or a battery, 'to charge' is to pile something on until it’s full and ready to act.
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