The Press Is Named After the Printing Machine
To press is to push steadily. The word for news media comes directly from the printing press that produced newspapers.
To press is to push steadily against something. The news media are called *the press* because newspapers were made on a printing press: Gutenberg adapted a wine or olive press around 1440, so the whole industry of journalism carries the name of a fruit-squeezing machine. *Freedom of the press* still uses that image. A separate verb *press*, meaning to force into naval service, gives the *press gang* — it is a corruption of *prest*, a loan or advance of pay, not a pushing word at all.
- To push steadily. *Press the button.*
- The news media. *The free press.*
- A printing machine. *The printing press.*
- To urge. *Press for an answer.*
- Press gang — forced recruitment. *The press gang.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | press | Press it. |
| Past | pressed | Pressed. |
| Noun | press | The press. |
| Noun | pressure | Pressure. |
| Latin | pressare | To press. |
- Press firmly and hold.Action.
- The press reported it first.Media.
- Gutenberg adapted a wine press.History.
The pressare family
- Press — to push steadily
- Pressure — the force applied
- Express — to press out, hence to put into words
- Impress — to press a mark into something
- Compress — to press together
Old French *presser*, from Latin *pressare*, from *premere*, to press. The naval sense is from *prest*, an advance of pay.
Why is journalism called the press?
Because newspapers were produced on a printing press, itself adapted from the screw press used for wine and olives.
Is press gang related to pressing?
No. It comes from prest, an advance of pay offered to recruits, later confused with press.