To load something again, especially to put fresh ammunition into a firearm or to restart a computer program or webpage. To replenish or refill something that has been depleted.
Formed by adding the prefix 're-' (again) to 'load', from Old English 'lad' meaning course or journey. The modern sense developed with firearms in the 16th century, and expanded to computing in the late 20th century.
The transition of 'reload' from military terminology to everyday computer use shows how technological metaphors evolve. When we 'reload' a webpage, we're unconsciously using language that once described the life-or-death process of recharging a musket in battle.
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