Etymograph

English

imprint

Imprint comes from Old French empreinte, and goes back to Latin premō ‘to press, push, press close or hard, oppress,…’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpremō‘to press, push, press close or hard, oppress, overwhelm’
  2. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEimprimere
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400empreindre
  4. Old French, derivedc. 842–1400empreinte
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2001imprint

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history uncertain.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpremō‘to press, push, press close or hard, oppress, overwhelm’
  2. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEimprimere
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400empreindre
  4. Old French, derivedc. 842–1400empreinte
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2001imprint

Earliest quotation: 2001, Susan Stryker, Queer Pulp: “From their Belmont Avenue address they issued such memorable…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *pres- ‘to press’

first, expression, impressionable, impressionist, impressionism, frist, 31 more

through Proto-Italic *pres-

pressure, express, depression, impressive, impression, oppression, suppression, compression, impress, depressive, compress, depress, repress, 35 more

through Latin premō ‘to press, push, press close or hard, oppress,…’

press, pregnant, sprain, reprimand, 48 more

Another origin of imprint

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pres-‘to press’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCEsame formuncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpremō‘to press, push, press close or hard, oppress, overwhelm’
  4. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEimprimere
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400empreindre
  6. Old French, derivedc. 842–1400empreinter
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500emprinten
  8. Englishtodayimprint

Today it means

noun An impression; the mark left behind by printing something or by pressing on something, or the figurative counterpart of such a mark.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Latin premō / imprint

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