Etymologically
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presse

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /pʁɛs/[1]

Forms

presse f (plural presses)[1]

Etymology

It is a deverbal noun from French presser (“to press”).[2][3][4] The verb continues Latin pressō, the frequentative of premō (“to press”), formed on its supine.[4] Cognate with Old Occitan pressa, Spanish priesa (“haste”) and Italian pressa.[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Vie de saint Alexis (about 1050) has Granz est la presse, nus n'i poduns passer, “great is the crowd, we cannot get through”.[7][8]

Semantic evolution

The sense “crowd”, frequent in the Chanson de Roland (en la presse, in the thick of the battle), is now literary;[9][5][3] il y a presse, there is a rush, dates from 1622.[9][5][3] About 1220 it also meant haste, a sense that survives regionally.[7][9][1] From the end of the 11th century it named a device for pressing, in Rashi's glosses, and at the end of the 15th century the printing press, whence sous presse (1550).[7][9] By metonymy it came to mean what is printed, as in liberté de la presse (1738), then the newspapers as a whole, and in 1838 journalists collectively.[9] Avoir bonne or mauvaise presse dates from 1884–1889.[9] The forced enlistment of sailors was also called la presse (1797).[3]

Timeline

  • c. 1050 – “Crowd”, in the Vie de saint Alexis.[7]
  • Late 11th century – A pressing device, in Rashi.[7]
  • c. 1220 – “Haste”, in Gautier de Coinci.[7]
  • Late 15th century – The printing press.[7]
  • 1550 – Sous la presse.[7][9]
  • 1738 – Liberté de la presse.[9]
  • 1838 – Journalists collectively.[9]
  • 1884 – Avoir bonne presse.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (literary) A dense crowd: fendre la presse.[10][11]
  2. A machine or device for pressing or stamping: presse hydraulique, presse à emboutir.[10][11]
  3. A printing press, sous presse, being printed.[10][7]
  4. La presse: newspapers and periodicals as a whole, and journalists: conférence de presse, liberté de la presse.[10][1]
  5. Avoir bonne presse, mauvaise presse: to have a good or bad reputation.[9][1]
  6. (regional) Haste, hurry.[1]

Word family

  • presse-papiers
  • presse-citron

Usage notes

Littré has a second presse, a kind of peach, which he takes as another form of pêche from Latin persicum; the REW traces it to Catalan préssec.[5][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  6. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  8. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  11. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)