Etymograph

English

press

Press comes from Middle English presse ‘throng, crowd’, from Old French presse, from presser ‘to press’, from Latin pressō, ultimately from premō ‘to press’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpremōas premere, past participle‘to press’
  2. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpressus‘pressed’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpressō‘to press’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400presser‘to press’
  5. Old French, derivedc. 842–1400presse
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘throng, crowd, clothespress’
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1597press

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpremōas premere, past participle‘to press’
  2. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpressus‘pressed’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpressō‘to press’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400presser‘to press’
  5. Old French, derivedc. 842–1400presse
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘throng, crowd, clothespress’
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1597press

Earliest quotation: c. 1597, William Shakespeare, The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]: “I have misused the king's press.”

The story

Chiefly displaced native Middle English thring (‘press, crowd, throng’) (from Old English þring (‘a press, crowd, anything that presses or confines’)).

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘to push, beat, press’

first, before, support, far, per, further, report, fear, opportunity, private, price, practice, port, primary, afford, prior, prime, ford, forth, appreciate, prize, practical, parade, par, pre, praise, ferry, privilege, pirate, interpretation, precious, porch, pardon, primitive, fare, prix, peril, afar, pragmatic, petra, 157 more

through Proto-Italic *pres-

impressionable, impressionist, impressionism, expressionism, 35 more

through Latin premō ‘to press’

pregnant, depression, expression, impressive, impression, imprint, compression, oppression, suppression, sprain, depressive, reprimand, imprimatur, 39 more

Another origin of press

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-‘to push, beat, press’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*pr-es-‘to press’uncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pres-uncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpremō‘to press’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpressus‘pressed, having been pressed, squeezed’
  6. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEpressāre
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400presser‘to press’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500pressen‘to crowd, thring, press’
  9. Englishtodaypress

Today it means

noun An instance of applying pressure; an instance of pressing.

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

Etymograph / Latin premō / press

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