Press (?), n. (Zoöl.)
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, v. t. [Corrupt. fr. prest
ready money advanced, a loan; hence, earnest money given soldiers on
entering service. See Prest, n.] To
force into service, particularly into naval service; to
impress.
To peaceful peasant to the wars is
pressed.
Dryden.
Press, n. [For prest, confused
with press.] 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, v. t. [imp. & p.
p. Pressed (?); p. pr. & vb. n.
Pressing.] [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.
&fist; 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, 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, n. [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.
&fist; 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; &?; crowd of single things; a throng.
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.
