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Origin and history of priming

priming(n.)

"first coat of paint or other material given to any surface," c. 1600, verbal noun from prime (v.). Meaning "act of priming a firearm" is by 1590s; that of "gunpowder in the pan of a firearm" is from 1620s.

also from c. 1600

Entries linking to priming

prime(v.)

"to fill, charge, load" (a weapon, before firing), 1510s, probably from prime (adj.). General sense of "perform the first operation on, prepare (something, especially wood, etc., for painting)" is from c. 1600. To prime a pump (1769) meant to pour water down the tube, which saturated the sucking mechanism and made it draw up water more readily. Related: Primed; priming.

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    ground
    Old English grund "bottom; foundation; surface of the earth," also "abyss, Hell," and "bottom of the sea" (a sense preserved in run aground), from Proto-Germanic *grundu-, which seems to have meant "deep place" (source also of Old Frisian, Old Saxon, Danish, Swedish grund, Dutch
    primer
    late 14c., "prayer-book, layperson's devotional manual," also "school book" (senses not distinguished in Middle English, as reading was taught from prayer books), from Medieval Latin primarium, from Latin primus "first" (see prime (adj.)), on the notion of "a first book." The wor
    fuse
    1680s, "to melt, make liquid by heat" (transitive), back-formation from fusion. Intransitive sense, "to become liquid," attested from 1800. Figurative sense of "blend different things, blend or unite as if by melting together" is recorded by 1817. Intransitive figurative sense "b
    pan
    apparatus from c. 1590; hence flash in the pan (see flash (n.1)), a figurative use from early firearms, where a pan held the priming...
    preparation
    late 14c., preparacioun, "act of preparing or making ready, preliminary act or operation, a previous setting in order," from Old French preparacion (13c.) and directly from Latin praeparationem (nominative praeparatio) "a making ready," noun of action from past participle stem of
    change
    c. 1200, "to alter, make different, change" (transitive); early 13c. as "to substitute one for another;" mid-13c. as "to make (something) other than what it was, cause to turn or pass from one state to another;" from late 13c. as "to become different, be altered" (intransitive),
    paint
    mid-13c., peinten, "represent (someone or something) in paint;" c. 1300, "decorate (something or someone) with drawings or pictures;" early 14c., "put color or stain on the surface of; coat or cover with a color or colors;" from Old French peintier "to paint," from peint, past pa
    squeeze
    c. 1600, "press forcibly" (transitive), perhaps an alteration of quease (Middle English quisen), from Old English cwysan "to squeeze," a word of unknown origin, perhaps imitative (compare German quetschen "to squeeze"). It perhaps also has been altered by influence of many words
    press
    c. 1300, presse, "a crowd, throng, company; crowding and jostling of a throng; a massing together," from Old French presse (n.) "a throng, a crush, a crowd; wine or cheese press" (11c.), from Latin pressare (see press (v.1)). Late Old English had press in the sense of "clothes pr
    ready
    Middle English redi, with adjectival suffix -i (as in busy, crafty, hungry, etc.) + Old English ræde, geræde "prepared, ready, suitably equipped;" of a horse, "ready for riding." This is reconstructed to be from Proto-Germanic *(ga)raitha- "arranged" (source also of Old Frisian r

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