premere

Premere is a Latin verb meaning to press, push down, or weigh down. It belongs to the third conjugation, with the present active infinitive premere. The principal parts are premo, premere, pressi, pressum. In sense and usage, the verb spans physical pressing as well as figurative pressure, such as restraining, urging, or driving forward.

In classical Latin, premere is used for applying physical pressure (for example, pressing weights, grapes, or cloth) and for figurative senses like repressing or constraining something, pressing a claim, or urging action. The range of meanings includes to press on, to press someone or something hard, and to compel or check movement. Its productive compound forms give additional nuance, such as opprimere (to oppress), exprimere (to press out or express), and imprimere (to imprint).

Morphology and derivatives: as a third-conjugation verb, premere forms a network of compounds that extend its meaning through prefixes. The root prem- appears in many related Latin verbs and in numerous later Romance languages. In modern Romance languages, descendants or cognates include Italian premere and French presser, both retaining the core sense of pressing or squeezing.

English derivatives trace back to premere through Latin compounds. English words such as express and impress derive from forms like exprimere and imprimere, illustrating how the Latin root influenced vocabulary through intermediate languages. Premere remains primarily of scholarly and historical interest, marking the semantic field of pressing, applying pressure, or pushing forward in both literal and metaphorical contexts.