Impress
late Middle English (in the sense ‘apply with pressure’): from Old French empresser, from em- ‘in’ + presser ‘to press’, influenced by Latin imprimere (see imprint). impress1 (sense 1 of the verb) dates from the mid 18th century.
wiktionary
From Middle English impressen, from Latin impressus, perfect passive participle of imprimere(“to press into or upon, stick, stamp, or dig into”), from in(“in, upon”) + premere(“to press”).
etymonline
impress (v.1)
late 14c., "have a strong effect on the mind or heart, to stamp deeply in the mind," from Latin impressus, past participle of imprimere "press into or upon, stamp," also figurative, from assimilated form of in- "into, in, on, upon" (from PIE root *en "in") + premere "to press, hold fast, cover, crowd, compress" (from PIE root *per- (4) "to strike"). Literal sense of "to apply with pressure, make a permanent image in, indent, imprint" is from early 15c. in English. Related: Impressed; impressing.
impress (n.)
"act of impressing" (1590s), also "characteristic mark" (1580s), from impress (v.1). From 1620s as "badge worn by nobility or their retainers," from Italian impresa; earlier in English in this sense as impreso, imprese (1580s).
impress (v.2)
"levy for military service," 1590s, from assimilated form of in- (2) "into, in" + press (v.2). Related: Impressed; impressing.
