Prepopulate

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To fill a form, database or software system with default or preliminary data before a user enters anything
2. Supplying information ahead of time so that a document, field or program already contains entries when it is first opened
3. Loading content or values into a system beforehand so that it is ready for use without manual input

Etymology: "Prepopulate" is a plain compound: the prefix "pre-", meaning "before," attached to "populate," which comes from Latin "populare," "to people or inhabit," itself from "populus," "the people." Put together, the word means to fill something with data, users, or content before it is put into use. Software and databases are the usual settings, so a form might be prepopulated with a customer's address, or a new account filled with default settings. The base word has a longer history than its prefix suggests. "Populate" was once used simply for settling land with inhabitants, and its sense of stocking a place with people or animals is older than any computing use. The compound adds only the sense of doing this in advance, so the word is a straightforward combination of two parts rather than a term with a dramatic backstory.

Synonyms: prefill, preload