Etymologically
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impressio

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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]

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