compress

Where does the word "compress" come from? It comes from Latin comprimere, and was adopted directly into English (1400s).

Compress’s story begins in Latin: comprimere meant “to press together.” To press together, from com- (together) and premere (to press). It reached English by 1400s as compress. Settled as the English word for squeezing something into a smaller space. Today, compress means to press or squeeze something into a smaller space.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient comprimere "to press together", to press together, from com- (together) and premere (to press).
2. Stage 2 · English · 1400s compress "to squeeze something into a smaller space", settled as the English word for squeezing something into a smaller space.