English
impressionability
Impressionability comes from Latin impressiō ‘push, thrust, assault, onslaught’, from imprimō ‘to press, impress’, and ultimately from premō.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpremō‘to press, push, press close or hard, oppress, overwhelm’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEimprimō‘to press, impress’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEimpressiō‘push, thrust, assault, onslaught’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400impression
- English1500–presentsame form
- Englishearliest quotation 1963impressionability
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpremō‘to press, push, press close or hard, oppress, overwhelm’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEimprimō‘to press, impress’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEimpressiō‘push, thrust, assault, onslaught’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400impression
- English1500–presentsame form
- Englishearliest quotation 1963impressionability
Earliest quotation: 1963, James Clavell, The Children's Story: “Originally written in the era of the Cold War,…”
A compound of impression + -ability
Latin premō ‘to press’
Latin imprimō ‘to press, impress’
Latin impressiō
Old French impression
English impression
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *pres- ‘to press’
first, expression, frist, 34 more
through Proto-Italic *pres-
pressure, express, depression, oppression, compression, suppression, depressive, compress, depress, repress, 35 more
through Latin premō ‘to press, push, press close or hard, oppress,…’
press, pregnant, imprint, sprain, reprimand, 45 more
through Latin imprimō ‘to press, impress’
through English impression
Today it means
noun The quality of being impressionable.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin premō / impressionability