squeeze

Pronunciation

• IPA: /skwiːz/^[1]

Etymology

It is probably an alteration of earlier quease, to press (about 1550).^[2][3][4] This is inherited from Middle English quysen (“to squeeze”), inherited from Old English cwȳsan, also cwiesan,^[2][4] a word of unknown origin,^[2][3][5][6] perhaps imitative, compare German quetschen (“to squeeze”).^[3] Merriam-Webster relates it to Icelandic kveisa (“stomach cramps”).^[4] It may also have been shaped by words of similar sound and sense such as squash, squirt and squelch.^[3] Hoad and the NODE give earlier forms squise and squize.^[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

To press forcibly: before 1601, as squease, in Barnhart; about 1600 in Etymonline.^[2][3] Hoad dates the earlier forms to the 16th century.^[5]

Semantic evolution

To obtain by pressure is from the 1650s, and to force one's way into or through from the 1680s.^[3] The noun, an act of squeezing, is from 1611, in Cotgrave's Dictionary.^[2][7] A firm press of the hand in friendship is from 1736, a hug from 1790,^[7] a small amount squeezed out from 1761,^[7] and the press of a crowd from 1802.^[7] Figurative pressure is from 1711,^[3][7] financial pressure from 1872,^[7] and to put the squeeze on, originally American, by 1902.^[3][7] A main squeeze, the most important person, is attested from 1896, and as a sweetheart by 1980.^[3] The baseball squeeze play is so called by 1905, and the bridge squeeze from 1926.^[3][7]

Timeline

• before 1601 – squease, to press.^[2]
• 1611 – a squeeze (noun).^[2][7]
• 1680s – to force one's way.^[3]
• 1736 – a press of the hand.^[7]
• 1872 – financial pressure.^[7]
• 1896 – main squeeze.^[3]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To press hard on or together; to compress.
2. To press something so as to extract liquid: to squeeze an orange.
3. To press gently, as in affection: he squeezed her hand.
4. To force into or through a confined space.
5. To obtain by pressure or dishonest means; to extort.

Noun

1. An act of squeezing.
2. An amount squeezed out.
3. A handclasp or brief embrace.
4. A crowd pressed together; a crush.
5. Financial pressure caused by shortages or restricted credit.
6. (informal) main squeeze: a sweetheart or lover.

Word family

• squeezable
• squeezer
• squeezability
• squeezingly
• squeezebox
• squeeze off
• squeeze play

Related words

• squash
• squish
• quash

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 Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press