print

Pronunciation

• IPA: /prɪnt/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English prente,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French preinte (“impression”), the noun use of the feminine past participle of preindre “to press”,^[2][3][4] an alteration of earlier prembre,^[2][3] from Latin premere (“to press”).^[2][3][5] The French word was also borrowed into Dutch as prent.^[2][3] It is related to press and imprint.^[3][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A mark made by pressing, as by a stamp or seal: about 1300 in Etymonline and Barnhart,^[2][3] before 1300 in the OED.^[7] The verb, to impress or stamp, is from about 1340–1380.^[7][3]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English the word was also used of an image stamped on the mind or soul, and the stigmata were called “precious prints of Christ”.^[7][2] The printing press gave it its main modern meanings: the verb, to produce books with inked type, is recorded in 1511, replacing emprint (Caxton, 1474),^[3] and to be in print is from the late 15th century.^[2] A printed publication is from the 1560s, printed lettering from the 1620s, a picture made from a plate from the 1660s,^[2] and out of print from the 1670s.^[2] Printed cloth is from 1756,^[2] writing in letters like type from 1801,^[2] and the photographic print from 1853 (the verb 1851).^[2] Printer is from 1504.^[3]

Timeline

• a. 1300 – a mark made by pressure.^[7]
• 1340–70 – verb, to stamp or impress.^[7]
• late 15th century – in print.^[2]
• 1504 – printer.^[3]
• 1511 – to print books.^[3]
• 1560s – a printed publication.^[2]
• 1660s – a picture from a plate.^[2]
• 1756 – printed cloth.^[2]
• 1801 – to write in separate letters.^[2]
• 1853 – a photograph.^[2]
• 1952 – to take fingerprints.^[2]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To produce text or pictures on paper or another surface with a printing press or printer.
2. To publish in printed form.
3. To write in separate letters like those of type rather than in joined writing.
4. To press a mark or design into or onto a surface.
5. To make a positive photograph from a negative.

Noun

1. Printed lettering or text.
2. A mark made by pressure, such as a footprint or fingerprint.
3. A picture made by printing, or a copy of a painting.
4. A photograph printed from a negative.
5. Cloth with a printed pattern.

Word family

• printer
• offprint
• overprint
• photoprint
• reprint
• surprint
• printable
• printery

Related words

• press
• imprint
• reprimand

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press