Present participle of download; transferring data from a remote computer or server to a local device. The process of retrieving digital files over a network.
Compound formed from 'down' (Old English dūne) and 'load' (Old English lād meaning 'course, journey'). The computing sense emerged in the 1970s, using the metaphor of bringing something from a higher level down to your location.
The metaphor of 'downloading' treats the internet as a vertical space where information flows downward to your device, even though networks are actually horizontal. This spatial metaphor helps us conceptualize the abstract process of data transfer.
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