pressure English · revision 3336

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1384, Wycliffe|origins=la premere}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈpreʃ.ə/, US /ˈpreʃ.ɚ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|pressure]],^(AHD 2000)^(MWU 2024) [[bor|fro|presseure|t=oppression, torture, anguish; press for wine or cheese]], pressure, a learned borrowing, and directly [[bor|la|pressūra|t=action of pressing]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from pressus, the past participle of [[m|la|premere|t=to press, hold fast, compress]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) from [[ine-pro|*per-|t=to strike]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) It is related to [[press]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(COED 2004)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ “Distress, anguish, suffering”: about 1384, in the Wycliffe Bible,^(Barnhart 1988) or 1382.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The literal meaning, the exertion of continuous force by pressing, is from probably before 1425.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The physical sense, force per unit of area, as the pressure of the air, is from 1660, in Robert Boyle.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) “Moral or mental coercing force, influence” is from the 1620s,^(Etymonline) the weight of political or economic burdens from 1616,^(OED 1989) and “urgency, demands on one's time” from 1812.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The verb, “to pressurize”, is from 1886 in American English,^(Etymonline) and “to exert pressure on someone” by 1922^(Etymonline) or from 1939, in Raymond Chandler.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) The ''pressure cooker'' is from 1915.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1382 – distress, anguish.^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1425 – the act of pressing.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1620s – moral or mental pressure.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1660 – pressure in physics.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1812 – urgency.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1886 – verb, to pressurize.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1915 – ''pressure cooker''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1939 – verb, to put pressure on.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Continuous physical force applied against a thing.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # ''(physics)'' Force per unit of area: ''air pressure''.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ # Influence or force used to [[persuade]] or [[compel]]: ''under pressure from voters''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Worry and demands that cause [[stress]]: ''the pressure of work''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To force or urge someone by persuasion or influence.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # To [[pressurize]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[pressureless]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[press]]

+ * [[pressurize]]

+ * [[compress]]

+ * [[depress]]

+ * [[express]]

+ * [[impress]]

+ * [[oppress]]

+ * [[print]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}