Print Began as the Mark a Press Left Behind
To print is to reproduce text or images mechanically. The word originally meant simply an impression pressed into a surface.
To print is to reproduce text or images by mechanical means. The word began with the mark rather than the machine: Latin *premere*, to press, gave Old French *preinte*, an impression, and English used *print* for any pressed mark long before Gutenberg. That older sense survives untouched in *footprint*, *fingerprint*, *imprint* and *blueprint*. *Out of print* means no copies are being pressed; *the small print* is the part printers set in the smallest type.
- To reproduce mechanically. *Print the report.*
- A mark pressed in. *A footprint.*
- Printed material. *Out of print.*
- A photograph. *A framed print.*
- Latin — *premere*, to press. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | Print it. | |
| Past | printed | Printed. |
| Noun | A print. | |
| Agent | printer | A printer. |
| Noun | printing | Printing. |
- The book went out of print.Publishing.
- A single footprint in the sand.Mark.
- Read the small print first.Idiom.
Prints that are not printed
- Footprint — the shape a foot presses into ground
- Fingerprint — the ridge pattern left on a surface
- Blueprint — from a photographic process that produced white lines on blue
- Imprint — a mark pressed in, also a publisher's name
- Carbon footprint — a modern figurative extension
Old French *preinte*, an impression, from *preindre*, from Latin *premere*, to press.
Is a footprint the same word as printing?
Yes. Both come from the sense of a mark pressed into a surface, which is older than the printing press.
Why is it called a blueprint?
From an early photographic copying process that produced white lines on a blue background.