English
depress
Depress comes from Latin dēpressus ‘depressed’, from dēprimō ‘to press down, to weigh down’, and ultimately from premō.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpremō‘to press’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēprimō‘to press down, to weigh down’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēpressus‘depressed’perfect participle of dēprimō
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400depresser
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500depressen
- Englishearliest quotation 1947depress
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpremō‘to press’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēprimō‘to press down, to weigh down’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēpressus‘depressed’perfect participle of dēprimō
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400depresser
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500depressen
- Englishearliest quotation 1947depress
Earliest quotation: 1947, and February, British Locomotive Practice and Performance: “As to the fireman, the sight of him at…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘to push, beat, press’
first, before, support, far, per, further, price, private, fear, opportunity, report, practice, port, primary, prior, afford, prime, ford, appreciate, forth, prize, pre, practical, par, praise, privilege, ferry, interpretation, precious, pirate, parade, porch, pardon, fare, primitive, prix, peril, afar, pragmatic, petra, 156 more
through Proto-Italic *pres-
impressionable, impressionist, impressionism, expressionism, 32 more
through Latin premō ‘to press’
pressure, pregnant, expression, express, impressive, impression, compression, imprint, oppression, impress, suppression, sprain, reprimand, compress, imprimatur, repress, 36 more
Today it means
verb To press down.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin premō / depress