Where does “small press” come from?

small press (English) comes from English press, from Middle English presse, from Old French presse, from Old French presser, from Latin pressāre, from Latin premere, from Latin premo, from Proto-Indo-European pres- — passed , crossed.

small press (English): A small-scale publishing company

Definitions

  1. A small-scale publishing company

Ancestry of “small press”, step by step

small press traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English press

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishpressA device used to apply pressure to an item; A...
2Middle Englishpressethrong, crowd, clothespress
3Old Frenchpresse
4Old Frenchpresserto press
5Latinpressāre
6Latinpremeresecond-person singular future passive indicative...
7LatinpremoI press; I pursue
8Proto-Indo-Europeanpres-to press
9Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
10Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

via English Small

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishSmallNot large or big; insignificant; few in number
2Middle EnglishsmalSmall, miniscule; Little, few, scarce; Ground...
3Old Englishsmælnarrow, slim; not broad; slender; not thick;...
4Proto-West Germanicsmalsmall
5Proto-Germanicsmalazsmall
6Proto-Indo-European(s)mal-small; little
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tósEvery word from Proto-Indo-European per-Every word from Proto-Indo-European pres-
small press — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer