Where does “squeeze” come from?

Squeeze comes from Middle English queisen, derived from Old English cwysan, with the original sense of the word chain unknown.

squeeze (English): To apply pressure to from two or more sides at...

Definitions

  1. To apply pressure to from two or more sides at...

Ancestry of “squeeze”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishsquize—
2Englishquease—
3Middle Englishqueisento squeeze
4Old Englishcwȳsanto quash, squeeze, crush dash against, bruise

Words derived from “squeeze”

Every word from Old English cwȳsan →Every word from Middle English queisen →Every word from English quease →