impressio

Forms

impressiō f (genitive impressiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from imprimō “to press in, stamp” with the suffix -tiō.^[2][1][3][4] It is also spelled ⟨inpressiō⟩.^[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citations are from Cicero, of emphatic pronunciation, and the TLL dates the plural from Cicero.^[2][3] Köbler dates Cicero 81–43 BC.^[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant a push, thrust, and in war an assault, as in Seneca and Livy, and also a squeezing.^[2][7] In Apuleius it meant pressing on, the making of marks by pressure, a stamp, and a sense impression.^[2][7] In Cicero it meant emphatic pronunciation, a beat in rhythm.^[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant an impression, stamp.^[8] Medieval Latin used it for the type of a coin, a seal, and oppression.^[9] It survives in Italian impressione and French impression, and Old French gave English impression in the late 14th century, “a mark produced by pressure”, also “an image in the mind”.^[1][4]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of emphasis.^[2][6]
• 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses it of an assault.^[2][6]
• c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it of stamping.^[2][6]
• late 14th century – English impression is recorded.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A thrust; an assault.^[2]
2. Squeezing.^[2]
3. Stamping; an impression.^[2]
4. Emphasis; a beat.^[2]
5. (Medieval Latin) A seal; oppression.^[9]

Related words

• imprimō
• premō
• English impression

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
8. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
9. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill