Source : WordNet®
download
v : transfer a file or program from a central computer to a
smaller computer or to a computer at a remote location
[ant: {upload}]
Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing
download
To transfer data or (especially) code from one
computer to another. The distinction between downloading and
uploading is hazy but downloading often refers to transfer
from a larger "host" system (especially a {server} or
{mainframe}) to a smaller "client" system, especially a
{microcomputer} or specialised peripheral.
Opposite: {upload}.
However, note that ground-to-space communications has its own
usage rule for this term. Space-to-earth transmission is
always "down" and the reverse "up" regardless of the relative
size of the computers involved. So far the in-space machines
have invariably been smaller; thus the upload/download
distinction has been reversed from its usual sense.
[{Jargon File}]
(1994-12-07)