refresh

English

Etymology

From Middle English refreshen, refreschen, refrisschen, from Old French refrescher (“to refresh”) (modern French rafraîchir), equivalent to re- +‎ fresh.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ɹiˈfɹɛʃ/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ɹɪˈfɹɛʃ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛʃ

Verb

refresh (third-person singular simple present refreshes, present participle refreshing, simple past and past participle refreshed)

1. (transitive) To renew or revitalize.

   Sleep refreshes the body and the mind.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 31:16–17:

     Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
     It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.

2. (intransitive) To become fresh again; to be revitalized.
3. (computing, transitive, intransitive) To reload (a document, especially a webpage) and show any new changes.
   • 2007, Beth Harbison, Shoe Addicts Anonymous:

     She refreshed the page. She was still the high bidder. Good.

4. (computing, transitive, intransitive) To cause (a web browser or similar software) to refresh its display.
   • 2007, Philip C Plumlee, Test Driven Ajax (on Rails):

     You can save your code, refresh your browser, and see a change instantly. This simple trick turns a lowly web browser into a development environment […]

5. To perform the periodic energizing required to maintain the contents of computer memory, the display luminance of a computer screen, etc.
6. (intransitive, colloquial, dated) To take refreshment; to eat or drink.
   • 1972, Vermont History, volume 40, page 268:

     We got within two miles of there, and stopped in the woods out of sight, where we refreshed with some brandy, and gave the two boys very large portions.

Derived terms

• refresh someone's memory

Translations

to renew or revitalize

• Arabic: جَدَّدَ (jaddada)
• Aromanian: mpruspitedz
• Bulgarian: освежавам (bg) (osvežavam), ободрявам (bg) (obodrjavam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 提神 (zh) (tíshén)

• Czech: občerstvit, osvěžit
• Dutch: verfrissen (nl)
• Esperanto: refreŝigi, revigligi
• Finnish: virkistää (fi), piristää (fi), elvyttää (fi)
• French: revigorer (fr), rafraîchir (fr)

  Old French: refreschir

• Georgian: განახლება (ganaxleba)
• German: erfrischen (de), erquicken (de), auffrischen (de)
• Greek: ανανεώνω (el) (ananeóno)

  Ancient: ἀναψύχω (anapsúkhō)

• Hungarian: felüdít (hu), felfrissít (hu)
• Irish: beoigh
• Italian: rinfrescare (it)
• Japanese: 爽やかにする (ja) (さわやかにする, sawayaka ni suru)
• Korean: 새롭게 하다 (saeropge hada)
• Luxembourgish: erfrëschen
• Maori: tāmata, whakanā
• Ngazidja Comorian: uɓuruɗisha
• Polish: odświeżyć (pl), odnawiać (pl) impf
• Portuguese: refrescar (pt)
• Romanian: împrospăta (ro)
• Russian: освежа́ть (ru) impf (osvežátʹ), обновля́ть (ru) impf (obnovljátʹ)
• Spanish: refrescar (es)
• Swedish: uppfriska
• Ukrainian: освіжа́ти impf (osvižáty), освіжи́ти pf (osvižýty)

to become fresh again; to be revitalized

• Bulgarian: освежавам се (osvežavam se)
• Esperanto: refreŝi
• Finnish: virkistyä, piristyä (fi), elpyä (fi)

computing: to reload a document, web page etc.

• Bulgarian: обновявам (bg) (obnovjavam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 刷新 (zh) (shuāxīn)

• Dutch: een webpagina herladen
• Finnish: päivittää (fi), ladata uudelleen
• German: aktualisieren (de), neu laden
• Greek: ανανεώνω (el) (ananeóno)
• Japanese: リフレッシュする (ja) (rifuresshu suru), 再読み込みする (さいよみこみする, saiyomikomi suru), 更新する (ja) (kōshin suru)
• Korean: 새로고침하다 (saerogochimhada)
• Polish: odświeżać (pl) impf
• Portuguese: atualizar (pt), recarregar
• Russian: обновля́ть (ru) impf (obnovljátʹ)
• Vietnamese: làm mới, làm tươi

computing: to cause to refresh a display

• Esperanto: aktualigi
• Finnish: päivittää (fi)
• Greek: ανανεώνω (el) (ananeóno)
• Polish: odświeżać (pl) impf
• Portuguese: atualizar (pt), recarregar
• Spanish: refrescar (es)

computing: to perform periodic energizing

• Finnish: virkistää (fi)
• Greek: ανανεώνω (el) (ananeóno)
• Spanish: refrescar (es)

Noun

refresh (plural refreshes)

1. The periodic energizing required to maintain the contents of computer memory, the display luminance of a computer screen, etc.
2. (computing) The update of a display (in a web browser or similar software) to show the latest version of the data.
3. The process of modernizing something.
   • 2013, Mark Phythian, Understanding the Intelligence Cycle, page 43:

     Experiences such as the Al Qaeda threat have provided a taste of how the landscape may have changed very fundamentally. Do these changes spell the end of the Cycle as a useful concept, or does it just need a refresh?

Derived terms

• refresh rate

Translations

update of a display

• Bulgarian: обновяване n (obnovjavane)
• Finnish: päivitys (fi)
• Hungarian: frissítés (hu)
• Korean: 새로고침 (saerogochim)
• Russian: обновле́ние (ru) n (obnovlénije)
• Ukrainian: оно́влення n (onóvlennja)

Anagrams

• fresher