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Origin and history of oppression

oppression(n.)

mid-14c., oppressioun, "cruel or unjust use of power or authority," from Old French opression (12c.), from Latin oppressionem (nominative oppressio) "a pressing down; violence, oppression," noun of action from past-participle stem of opprimere "press against, press together, press down;" figuratively "crush, put down, subdue, prosecute relentlessly" (in Late Latin "to rape"), from assimilated form of ob "against" (see ob-) + premere "to press, hold fast, cover, crowd, compress" (from PIE root *per- (4) "to strike").

Meaning "action of weighing on someone's mind or spirits" is from late 14c. Sense of "whatever oppresses or causes hardship" is from late 14c. In Middle English also "rape."

also from mid-14c.

Entries linking to oppression

ob-

word-forming element meaning "toward; against; before; near; across; down," also used as an intensive, from Latin ob (prep.) "in the direction of, in front of, before; toward, to, at, upon, about; in the way of; with regard to, because of," from PIE root *epi, also *opi "near, against" (see epi-).

*per-(4)

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to strike," an extended sense from root *per- (1) "forward, through."

It forms all or part of: compress; depress; espresso; express; impress (v.1) "have a strong effect on the mind or heart;" imprimatur; imprint; oppress; oppression; pregnant (adj.2) "convincing, weighty, pithy;" press (v.1) "push against;" pressure; print; repress; reprimand; suppress.

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    subjugation
    late 14c., subjugacion, "position of something under someone," from Late Latin subiugationem (nominative subiugatio), noun of action from past-participle stem of Latin subiugare "to subdue," literally "bring under the yoke," from sub "under" (see sub-) + iugum "yoke" (from PIE ro
    persecution
    mid-14c., persecucioun, "oppression for the holding of a belief or opinion," from Old French persecucion "persecution, damage...General senses of "malevolent oppression, harassing or oppressive treatment," also "a time of general or systematic oppression...
    threat
    Old English þreat "crowd, troop," also "oppression, coercion, menace," related to þreotan "to trouble, weary," from Proto-Germanic...from PIE *treud- "to push, press squeeze" (source also of Latin trudere "to press, thrust," Old Church Slavonic trudu "oppression...
    supprise
    The noun later also had sense "oppression; surprise attack," but perhaps originally was an alternate form of surprise used...
    yoke
    Figurative sense of "heavy burden, oppression, servitude" was in Old English....
    stress
    .); in part from Old French estrece "narrowness, oppression," from Vulgar Latin *strictia, from Latin strictus "tight, compressed...
    tribulation
    "a state of affliction or oppression, suffering, distress," c. 1200, from Old French tribulacion (12c.), from Church Latin...
    depression
    c. 1400 as a term in astronomy, "angular distance of a star below the horizon," from Old French depression (14c.) and directly from Medieval Latin depressionem (nominative depressio), noun of action from past participle stem of Latin deprimere "to press down, depress" (see depres
    subjection
    late 14c., subjeccioun, "obedience, submission; servitude, bondage, state of being under the dominion of another; act of subjecting or subduing;" from Anglo-French subjectioun, Old French subjection "submission; subjugation; inferior condition; captivity" (12c., Modern French suj
    weight
    Old English gewiht "weighing, weight, downward force of a body, heaviness," from Proto-Germanic *wihti- (source also of Old Norse vætt, Danish vegt, Old Frisian wicht, Middle Dutch gewicht, German Gewicht), from *weg- (see weigh). Figurative sense of "burden" is late 14c. To lose

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