Tracing the Meaning of a Word: Rendering (Bite-size Article)

Source: Dev.to

Introduction

In the field of web development, Rendering refers to the process of taking information such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, or application state and data structures, processing them, and generating or updating something humans can perceive—in other words, a screen or user interface.

Typical examples include component rendering in frontend frameworks like React, update handling via the virtual DOM, and server‑side rendering (SSR). In modern web development, these mechanisms are intricately combined to deliver the final visual output to users.

At its core, the meaning of the word rendering in this context is quite simple:

“Taking source materials and shaping them into a final form for expression.”

This meaning is not limited to the web. Rendering originally carried this sense long before it was used in computing.

The Etymology of Rendering

The word rendering did not originate in the world of computers or the web. Tracing its roots leads us to the Latin word reddere, which means “to give back,” “to give,” or “to deliver.” From this, the English verb render evolved to mean “to present something in another form” or “to express a result,” and it has been used in this sense for a long time.

• In the arts, render refers to depicting figures or light.
• In architecture, a rendering is a visual representation of a finished building.

In both cases, the act involves taking materials or designs and visualizing a final form.

More surprisingly, in food processing and industry, rendering refers to heating animal fat, removing impurities, and extracting usable fat. Here, rendering does not mean “drawing” something, but rather the process of transforming raw material into a usable form.

Rethinking Rendering in Web Development

With that background, let’s return to the web. At a fundamental level, rendering in web development is doing the same thing.

HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and application state are, by themselves, just text. They are not visual in the way we experience them through a browser. They are raw materials—closer to blueprints or unprocessed information.

Browsers and frameworks interpret these materials, assemble them, perform calculations, and finally present them in the form of a “screen.” This entire process of transformation and finishing is what we call rendering in web development.

Taking React as an example, every time state or props change, the framework recalculates what the UI should look like. That result is then reflected in the DOM, updating what the user sees. Again, the task is to transform abstract state into a concrete, usable form.

Conclusion

The reason for writing this article was a YouTube video explaining the process of making animal fat. In the video, solid fat was slowly heated, impurities were removed, and high‑purity tallow was produced, with the presenter calling the process “Rendering.”

Because I work with web development and programming, I already understood the meaning and concept of render. However, seeing the word used in the context of animal fat made the connection click.

Just as rendering animal fat involves heating solid fat, removing what isn’t needed, and extracting something usable, rendering on the web is also about processing and organizing information, then presenting it in a final, usable form.

Rendering is not merely a technical term used in web development; it is a word with a long history, carrying the idea of transformation and refinement. Keeping that background in mind may make it feel more natural why this word is used in web development at all.

Thank you very much for reading!