premo

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈprɛ.moː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈprɛː.mo]^[1]

Forms

premō (present infinitive premere, perfect active pressī, supine pressum); third conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *pres-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *pr-es- (“to press”), the stem seen in the perfect pressī and the participle pressum.^[2][1] The present stem in ⟨prem-⟩ is usually explained as made on the model of tremō, since that verb had the two stems *trem- and *tres-,^[2][1][3] though the TLL notes that where *prem- came from is still unexplained.^[3]

De Vaan compares Sanskrit पृत् (pṛ́t-, “battle”), Lithuanian per̃ti (“to beat, lash”) and Russian переть (peretʹ, “to push one's way, drag”).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Livius Andronicus onwards.^[2] In Plautus a lover forbids his mistress to press her foot against any man's foot.^[4]

Semantic evolution

Its basic sense was to press or push, and it covered embracing, imprinting marks, as a keel cuts a furrow in the sea, pressing hard on an enemy in pursuit, and crowding round.^[4] It was used for weighing down, treading on, overwhelming and covering, and so for darkness hiding things and for sleep or death overpowering a person.^[4]

It meant to check or suppress, to silence, to keep confined, as Aeolus holds the winds, and to belittle.^[4] Cicero used it for pressing a point in argument.^[4] It also meant to squeeze milk, honey, wine or oil.^[4] In Neo-Latin it was used for printing books.^[5] Old French preindre “to press” comes from it, and its noun gave English print;^[6][1] English press comes from its frequentative pressare.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it for pressing a foot.^[4][7]
• 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it for sweat squeezed out of the body.^[4][7]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it for pressing a point.^[4][7]
• 70–19 BC – Virgil has Aeolus hold down the winds.^[4][7]
• c. 1300 – English print comes through Old French preinte, “impression”.^[6]
• 1482 – The printer Erhard Ratdolt uses it of printing a book.^[5]

Meanings

Verb

1. To press, push; to embrace.^[4][8]
2. To imprint, make (a mark) by pressing.^[4]
3. To press hard on (in pursuit); to attack, harass.^[4]
4. To crowd round.^[4]
5. To press (a point), urge.^[4]
6. To weigh down; to tread on; to overwhelm.^[4][1]
7. To cover, hide; to surpass.^[4][1]
8. To check, suppress; to silence; to confine.^[4][1]
9. To lower; to disparage.^[4][1]
10. To squeeze; to press out (wine, oil); to throttle.^[4][1]
11. (New Latin) To print.^[5]

Word family

• apprimō
• comprimō
• dēprimō
• exprimō
• imprimō
• interprimō
• opprimō
• prēlum
• pressim
• pressiō
• pressō

Related words

• English press
• English print
• English pressure

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
3. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c Ramminger, Johann, Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700, www.neulatein.de
6. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
8. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press