suppression

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French suppression and Latin suppressiō (“a pressing down; concealment; repression”),^[2][3][4] from the past participial stem of supprimō (“to press down, hold back”),^[2][3][5] from sub- (“under”) and premō (“to press”),^[6][3] from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to strike”).^[3][6] The Middle French word is recorded from 1468 for putting down people by force, and later for the stopping of a bodily discharge (1575, in Paré).^[2] In post-classical Latin the noun also meant concealment (5th century), oppression and the dissolution of a religious house.^[2] The earlier English noun was suppressing, from the late 14th century.^[3] The OED thinks the uses in psychology and psychoanalysis probably follow German Unterdrückung.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Impression, effect, probably by confusion with impression: in the Pilgrimage of the Soul (1413, manuscript before 1500).^[2][4][3]

Semantic evolution

The odd first sense soon died out.^[2][7] The main sense, putting down a person or group by force or authority, is recorded from 1487, in Caxton,^[2] and the putting down of a practice or rebellion from 1528, in Thomas More.^[2][3] Medicine used it from 1564 for the stopping of urine or menstruation; since 1583 it has also been used more generally for the stopping of a bodily function.^[2] The withholding of a book or other work from publication is recorded from 1628,^[2] and the keeping of something secret from 1651.^[2] Johnson (1755) gave as its second sense "not publication".^[8] From 1706 it was used of holding back an emotion or utterance,^[2] and in grammar of the leaving out of a word (1728);^[2] botany used it from 1824 for the failure of an organ to develop.^[2][9] In psychoanalysis it is the conscious avoidance of unpleasant thoughts, as distinct from repression.^[9]

Timeline

• 1413 – impression, effect (obsolete).^[2][4]
• 1487 – putting down a person or group by force or authority.^[2]
• 1528 – putting an end to a practice or a rebellion.^[2]
• 1564 – the stopping of urine or menstruation.^[2]
• 1628 – withdrawal from publication.^[2]
• 1651 – the keeping of something secret.^[2]
• 1706 – the holding back of an utterance or emotion.^[2]
• 1824 – in botany, the absence or non-development of an organ.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of suppressing something, such as a rebellion or a practice, by force or authority, or the state of being suppressed.^[10][9][2]
2. The withholding of information or of a publication from the public: the suppression of the report.^[10][2]
3. The holding back of a feeling or utterance.^[2]
4. (psychoanalysis) The conscious avoidance of unpleasant thoughts.^[9]
5. (medicine) The stopping of a bodily function or symptom.^[10][9][2]
6. (biology) The failure of an organ or part to develop.^[9][10][2]
7. (electronics) The suppressing of a frequency or oscillation.^[9]

Word family

• immunosuppression
• nonsuppression
• resuppression

Related words

• suppress
• press
• repression
• oppression
• compression

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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 z 27 28 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
9. ^ a b c d e f g Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
10. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster