The verb migrate came into the English language in the early 17th century, from the Latin verb migrare, with the general sense ‘move from one place to another’. The more specific meanings of birds moving with the seasons, or people moving from one place to settle in another, did not appear until the 18th century, though they subsequently became established as the primary senses of the verb. Although the transitive use of migrate seems to be a new invention restricted largely to technical and computing domains, the adoption of the verb as a synonym for move or transfer is, in fact, just a return to the verb’s original meaning.