Etymologically
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push

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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
  • 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)