Etymology and origin of the Latin word pressus
pressus1 pressed; restrained
- Confidence
- Probable
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- 280/260–before 200 BC, Livius Andronicus
- Ultimate origin
- Proto-Indo-European (*pr-es-)
Etymology tree of pressus1
Forms
pressus (feminine pressa, neuter pressum; comparative pressior); first/second-declension adjective[1]
Etymology
Used as an adjective, it is the past participle from Latin premō (“to press”).[1][2][3] De Vaan traces that verb to Proto-Italic *pres- and Proto-Indo-European *pr-es- (“to press”), comparing Lithuanian per̃ti (“to beat, lash”); the present ⟨prem-⟩ beside the perfect ⟨press-⟩ is usually explained after tremō (“to tremble”).[4]
Earliest recorded meaning
Köbler dates it from Livius Andronicus.[3]
Semantic evolution
It is done with pressure, firm: Sallust has soldiers led at a firm, deliberate pace, and Seneca a tight embrace.[1] It is close-packed, dense, and in Martial of kisses following thick and fast.[1] Varro uses it of loins that are sunken.[1] Of sound it is low: Cicero speaks with a low voice and of songs sung in low, mournful measures.[1] Of colour it is dull, as kinds of ochre in Pliny the Elder.[1] It is moderate or restrained, as Persius' modest household.[1] Above all it is used of style, concise and restrained: Cicero says someone's speech would have been much more concise, and Quintilian and Tacitus praise a pure and concise manner.[1] Church Latin glosses it subdued, suppressed, moderate, precise.[5]
Timeline
- 280/260–before 200 BC – Livius Andronicus uses it.[3]
- 81–43 BC – Cicero of a low voice and of concise style.[1][3]
- 86–34 BC – Sallust of a firm pace.[1][3]
- c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian of a restrained narrative.[1][3]
Meanings
Adjective
pressus2 pressure
- Confidence
- Probable
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- 81–43 BC, Cicero
- Ultimate origin
- Latin (premō)
Etymology tree of pressus2
Forms
pressus m (genitive pressūs); fourth declension[1]
Etymology
The noun is from Latin premō (“to press”) + -tus.[1][7][3]
Earliest recorded meaning
Köbler dates it from Cicero.[3] In the Tusculan Disputations the mind by its own effort drives off all the pressure of weights.[2]
Semantic evolution
It is pressure, the act of pressing: Cicero's Aratea has a figure holding a snake in the double grip of his palms.[2] In speech it is the pressure of the lips in shaping the voice: Cicero says anyone would easily outdo a certain speaker by the very pressure and sound of his mouth.[1][2] The TLL notes that it is mostly found in the ablative and that it survives in Franco-Provençal.[7]
Timeline
Meanings
Noun
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
- ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
- ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
Cite this entry
“Pressus.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/pressus. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.
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