Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “print” come from?

Print comes from Middle English printen, derived from Middle English emprinten, which developed from Old French empreinter and Old French empreindre, ultimately from Latin imprimere, composed of Latin in- and Latin in.

print (English): Of, relating to, or writing for printed...

Definitions

  1. Of, relating to, or writing for printed...

Ancestry of “print”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishprinten—
2Middle Englishemprinten—
3Old Frenchempreinter—
4Old Frenchempreindre—
5Latinimprimeresecond-person singular future passive indicative...
6LatinimprimoI press, impress; I print, imprint, stamp
7Latinīn-—
8Latinîn—
9Latinenlookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ
10Proto-Italicenin
11Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁énin

Words derived from “print”

  • reprint
  • blueprint
  • footprint
  • fingerprint
  • printout
  • fingerprinting
  • newsprint
  • misprint
  • printable
  • printmaking
  • thumbprint
  • handprint
  • footprinting
  • preprint
  • unprintable
  • printmaker
  • overprint
  • nonprint
  • offprint
  • printshop
  • printseller
  • palmprint
  • photoprint
  • voiceprint
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁én →