push

Pronunciation

• IPA: /pʊʃ/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English pushen, earlier possen,^[2] borrowed from Old French poulser, modern French pousser,^[3][2] from Latin pulsāre (“to beat, strike, push”),^[3][2] a frequentative of pellere (“to push, drive, beat”), past participle pulsus,^[3][2][4] which Watkins derives from Proto-Indo-European *pel- (“to thrust, strike, drive”).^[3] It is a doublet of pulsate.^[2] For the sound -sh- from -s-, the OED compares brush and quash.^[3] The noun is from the verb.^[3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

To shove, thrust: about 1300 in Etymonline,^[3] and about 1325 in Barnhart, with possen in King Horn earlier.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The early sense was “to exert force on”, which led later to “to make a strenuous effort”.^[6] “To urge, press” is from the 1580s,^[3] and “to promote by persistence”, as of goods, from 1714;^[2][3] from it came “to peddle drugs illegally”.^[2] The noun, a driving thrust, is from the 1560s,^[3] a vigorous attempt from the 1590s,^[3][7] and a determined advance from 1803.^[7][3] Persevering enterprise, a determination to get on, is by 1855.^[3] To give someone the push, “to dismiss”, is from 1899,^[7] push one's luck from 1754, push someone around by 1923,^[3] when push comes to shove by 1936,^[3] and push the envelope from the late 1980s.^[3] “To approach an age”, as in pushing fifty, is from 1937.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1300 – to shove.^[3]
• 1560s – noun, a thrust.^[3]
• 1580s – to urge.^[3]
• 1590s – a vigorous attempt.^[3]
• 1714 – to promote.^[2][3]
• 1803 – a determined advance.^[7]
• 1899 – give the push.^[7]
• 1936 – when push comes to shove.^[3]
• 1937 – to approach an age.^[3]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To press against something so as to move it away; to shove.
2. To make one's way by force: push through the crowd.
3. To urge or pressure someone to act.
4. To promote or try to sell; to sell illegal drugs.
5. To press a button or key.

Noun

1. An act of pushing; a shove.
2. A vigorous effort or advance: a final push.
3. (informal) Dismissal: give someone the push.

Word family

• outpush
• unpushed
• pushback
• pushball
• push-bike
• push-button
• pushcard
• pushcart

Related words

• pedal pushers
• pulse
• pulsate
• repulse
• compel
• expel
• propel
• appeal

Usage notes

A Middle English noun push, “a pimple, boil” (1533), probably came from pus under the influence of push,^[3][7] and survived in dialect.^[8]

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 Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)