imprimere

Imprimere is a verb with roots in Latin, meaning to press in, to imprint, or to stamp. In Romance languages the form appears in historical or literary contexts, and in modern Italian the everyday verb for “to print” is usually stampare. Imprimere survives in Italian primarily in senses related to imprinting marks on surfaces or, metaphorically, to imprint memories or characteristics.

Etymology traces imprimere to the Latin prefix in- “upon” and premere “to press.” The combination conveys the act of pressing a mark into a material. The Latin form produced related terms such as impressus (impressed) and influenced the English noun imprint and verb to imprint, as well as the publishing term imprimatur.

Usage and scope: In Latin texts, imprimere appears in descriptions of stamping, sealing, or embossing, and in technical or legal language concerning impressions on surfaces. The word also underpins the modern publishing term imprimatur, indicating official authorization to print, derived from the sense of causing an imprint to be made. In Italian, imprimere can mean to imprint or stamp, for example with a seal, and figuratively to “imprint” something on the mind or memory (imprimere un ricordo).

Modern languages: Outside Italian, the exact form imprimere is not widely used in contemporary everyday speech. Latin, historical texts, and some scholarly or philological writings retain the form. In contemporary usage, other verbs—such as Italian stampare or Spanish imprimir—fulfil the standard sense of printing, while imprimere remains a reference in etymology and specialized contexts.