Where does “oppress” come from?
Oppress comes from Middle English oppressen, from Old French oppresser, from Medieval Latin oppressare, from Latin opprimere, meaning to press against or crush, derived from ob- and the root per-.
oppress (English): To keep down by unjust force; To make sad or...
Definitions
- To keep down by unjust force; To make sad or...
Ancestry of “oppress”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | oppressen | — |
| 2 | Old French | oppresser | — |
| 3 | Medieval Latin | oppressare | to press against, oppress |
| 4 | Latin | opprimere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 5 | Latin | opprimo | I press down upon; I suppress; I take by... |
| 6 | Latin | ob- | towards; against |
| 7 | Latin | obolus | obolus (Greek coin) |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | ὀβολός | obol, obolus, used at Athens as both a weight and... |
| 9 | Ancient Greek | ὀβελός | a spit, rod; a horizontal line |
| 10 | Ancient Greek | βέλος | missile, arrow, dart; weapon; something quickly... |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷélHos | — |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷelH- | to throw, reach, pierce; to hit by throwing |