Oppression
/əˈprɛʃ.ən/noun
The prolonged cruel or unjust treatment of a person or group.
Did you know?Oppression comes from Latin *opprimere*, “to press down,” and the same *premere* root also gave English words like *print*, *compress*, and *depress*—a whole family of “pressure” words hiding inside one of English’s darkest social terms.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*per-
“to strike, press, or beat”
Latin
Latin
premere
“to press, squeeze, or hold down”
Latin
Latin
opprimere
“to press against, crush, overpower”
Late Latin
Latin
oppressio
“a pressing down, crushing”
Old French
Old French
opression
“oppression, hardship, tyranny”
Middle English
English
oppression
“cruel or unjust treatment; the state of being weighed down”