presso

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin prĕsse (“closely, tightly”), the adverb formed from the past participle of premō (“to press”).^[2][3][4][5] Wiktionary sets *pressō of Vulgar Latin between the two.^[1] Nocentini and Devoto–Oli start instead from the participle itself, prĕssum (“pressed, hard pressed, besieged”),^[6][7] and Devoto saw a blend of the adverb with the phrase Late Latin ad pressum, the source of appresso.^[8][6]

The same word is French près and Occitan pres.^[6][5] DEI places it in Italy and western Romance, but not in Spanish or Portuguese.^[9] Körting explains such formations as replacements of Latin apud (“at, by”), which survived only in Gaul: Italian built this word, allato, accosto and accanto in its place.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT and Nocentini date the word to the second half of the 12th century.^[3][6] DELI's first record is the adverb “nearby” in Giamboni (before 1292); the preposition “near, beside” appears in the Italian translation of Crescenzi, about 1350.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian also used presso as an adjective, “near”, with a feminine pressa: the Novellino speaks of la più presso villa (“the nearest village”), and Lasca of going home per la più pressa (“by the shortest way”).^[11][12] Boccaccio uses it for “almost”,^[9] a sense that survives in pressoché, recorded about 1225.^[2]

The plural noun pressi “the surroundings” is recent: pratiche agrarie dei pressi di Siena (1836), ne' pressi di Firenze (Tommaseo, 1871).^[2][11] In modern Italian the preposition has spread from place to people and institutions: “at the home of”, “employed by”, “in the opinion of”, and in addresses “care of”.^[3][4][13]

Timeline

• Second half of the 12th century – First record according to GRADIT and Nocentini.^[3][6]
• About 1225 – Pressoché “almost” in Garzo.^[2]
• Before 1292 – Giamboni uses the adverb.^[2]
• About 1350 – The preposition appears in the translation of Crescenzi.^[2]
• 1836 – Pressi “surroundings” in a farming journal.^[2]
• 1871 – Tommaseo records ne' pressi di Firenze.^[2][11]

Meanings

Adverb

1. (literary) Near, nearby, usually after another adverb of place: qui presso, lì presso.^[3][14][15]

Preposition

1. near, close to, beside; before a stressed personal pronoun it takes di: presso di me.^[3][7][14]
2. At the home of; in addresses, care of: Laura Neri, presso famiglia Conti.^[3][4][15]
3. At an office or institution; in the employ of: Ha fatto un tirocinio presso una banca.^[3][7][4]
4. Among, in the eyes of; in the culture of a people or the works of an author: un poeta stimato presso i lettori giovani.^[3][4][13]
5. (archaic, literary) Of time: near, about.^[3][15]

Noun

1. (plural) pressi: the surroundings, the vicinity, usually in nei pressi di.^[3][2][1]

Word family

• pressoché
• appresso
• dappresso
• dipresso
• pressappoco

Related words

• premere
• Latin presse
• French près

Usage notes

Presso is also the archaic learned past participle of premere, “pressed, compressed”, from Latin pressus, recorded in Alamanni (1546) and still in Metastasio;^[9][3][13] presso latte was curdled milk.^[9][3][13] The adverbial phrases are da presso “from close by” (also dappresso) and a un di presso “approximately” (also a un dipresso).^[14][15]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ a b c d e Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
5. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
6. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
8. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 344
9. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3071
10. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
11. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
12. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 14, 257
13. ^ a b c d Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
14. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
15. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana