Category:Press

Press, n. (zoöl.)

Defn: an east indian insectivore (tupaia ferruginea). It is arboreal In its habits, and has a bushy tail. The fur is soft, and varies from Rusty red to maroon and to brownish black.

Press Press, v. t. Etym: [corrupt. fr. prest ready money advanced, a loan; Hence, earnest money given soldiers on entering service. See prest, N.]

Defn: to force into service, particularly into naval service; to Impress. To peaceful peasant to the wars is pressed. Dryden.

Press Press, n. Etym: [for prest, confused with press.]

Defn: a commission to force men into public service, particularly Into the navy. I have misused the king's press. Shak. Press gang, or pressgang, a detachment of seamen under the command of An officer empowered to force men into the naval service. See impress Gang, under impress. -- press money, money paid to a man enlisted into public service. See prest money, under prest, a.

Press Press, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pressed; p. pr. & vb. n. Pressing.] Etym: [f. presser, fr. L. pressare to press, fr. premere, pressum, to Press. Cf. Print, v.]

1. To urge, or act upon, with force, as weight; to act upon by Pushing or thrusting, in distinction from pulling; to crowd or compel By a gradual and continued exertion; to bear upon; to squeeze; to Compress; as, we press the ground with the feet when we walk; we Press the couch on which we repose; we press substances with the Hands, fingers, or arms; we are pressed in a crowd. Good measure, pressed down, and shaken together. Luke vi. 38.

2. To squeeze, in order to extract the juice or contents of; to Squeeze out, or express, from something. From sweet kernels pressed, she tempers dulcet creams. Milton. And i took the grapes, and pressed them into pharaoh's cup, and i Gave the cup into pharaoh's hand. Gen. xl. 11.

3. To squeeze in or with suitable instruments or apparatus, in order To compact, make dense, or smooth; as, to press cotton bales, paper, Etc.; to smooth by ironing; as, to press clothes.

4. To embrace closely; to hug. Leucothoe shook at these alarms, and pressed palemon closer in her Arms. Pope.

5. To oppress; to bear hard upon. Press not a falling man too far. Shak.

6. To straiten; to distress; as, to be pressed with want or hunger.

7. To exercise very powerful or irresistible influence upon or over; To constrain; to force; to compel. Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the jews that jesus Was christ. Acts xviii. 5.

8. To try to force (something upon some one); to urge or inculcate With earnestness or importunity; to enforce; as, to press divine Truth on an audience. He pressed a letter upon me within this hour. Dryden. Be sure to press upon him every motive. Addison.

9. To drive with violence; to hurry; to urge on; to ply hard; as, to Press a horse in a race. The posts. . . went cut, being hastened and pressed on, by the King's commandment. Esther viii. 14.

Note: press differs from drive and strike in usually denoting a slow Or continued application of force; whereas drive and strike denote a Sudden impulse of force. Pressed brick. See under brick.

Press Press, v. i.

1. To exert pressure; to bear heavily; to push, crowd, or urge with Steady force.

2. To move on with urging and crowding; to make one's way with Violence or effort; to bear onward forcibly; to crowd; to throng; to Encroach. They pressed upon him for to touch him. Mark iii. 10.

3. To urge with vehemence or importunity; to exert a strong or Compelling influence; as, an argument presses upon the judgment.

Press Press, n. Etym: [f. presse. See 4th press.]

1. An apparatus or machine by which any substance or body is pressed, Squeezed, stamped, or shaped, or by which an impression of a body is Taken; sometimes, the place or building containing a press or Presses.

Note: presses are differently constructed for various purposes in the Arts, their specific uses being commonly designated; as, a cotton Press, a wine press, a cider press, a copying press, etc. See drill Press.

2. Specifically, a printing press.

3. The art or business of printing and publishing; hence, printed Publications, taken collectively, more especially newspapers or the Persons employed in writing for them; as, a free press is a blessing, A licentious press is a curse.

4. An upright case or closet for the safe keeping of articles; as, a Clothes press. Shak.

5. The act of pressing or thronging forward. In their throng and press to that last hold. Shak.

6. Urgent demands of business or affairs; urgency; as, a press of Engagements.

7. A multitude of individuals crowded together; They could not come nigh unto him for the press. Mark ii. 4. Cylinder press, a printing press in which the impression is produced By a revolving cylinder under which the form passes; also, one in Which the form of type or plates is curved around a cylinder, instead Of resting on a flat bed. Hydrostatic press. See under hydrostatic. -- liberty of the press, the free right of publishing books, Pamphlets, or papers, without previous restraint or censorship, Subject only to punishment for libelous, seditious, or morally Pernicious matters. -- press bed, a bed that may be folded, and inclosed, in a press or Closet. Boswell. -- press of sail, (naut.), as much sail as the state of the wind Will permit.