install

Etymology

From Middle English installen, from Old French installer, from Medieval Latin installō (“to install, put in place, establish”), from in- + stallum (“stall”), from Frankish *stall (“stall, position, place”), from Proto-Germanic *stallaz (“place, position”), from Proto-Indo-European *stel-, *stAlǝn-, *stAlǝm- (“stem, trunk”). Cognate with Old High German stal (“location, stall”), Old English steall (“position, stall”), Old English onstellan (“to institute, create, originate, establish, give the example of”), Middle High German anstalt (“institute”), German anstellen (“to conduct, employ”), German einstellen (“to set, adjust, position”), Dutch aanstellen (“to appoint, commission, institute”), Dutch instellen (“to set up, establish”). More at in, stall.

verb

1. (transitive) To connect, set up or prepare something for use
   Across Japan, technology companies and private investors are racing to install devices that until recently they had little interest in: solar panels. Massive solar parks are popping up as part of a rapid build-up that one developer likened to an "explosion." 2013-06-21, Chico Harlan, “Japan pockets the subsidy …”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 30
   Each TBM installs two-metre-wide rings made up of seven precast concrete segments produced on-site. Each ring takes approximately 45 minutes to one hour to install. July 14 2021, Paul Stephen, “A portal into the future”, in RAIL, number 935, page 52. photo caption
   1. (transitive, computing) To transfer software onto a device's permanent storage and put it in a state where it is ready to be run when needed, usually decompressing it if necessary and performing any necessary pre-first-run configuration.
      I haven't installed the new operating system yet because of all the bugs.
2. (transitive) To admit formally into an office, rank or position.
   He was installed as Chancellor of the University.
3. (transitive) To establish or settle in.
   I installed myself in my usual chair by the fire.

noun

1. (computing) Installer. A software utility that installs an application.
   After inserting the disk, you need to run the install.
2. (informal) An installation. (Usage originated as a truncated form of the word installation.)