An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Presse

by Friedrich Kluge

Presse, feminine, ‘press, pressure, strait, printing-press’; from French presse; Middle High German prësse, Old High German prëssa (pfrëssa), ‘winepress,’ is like the equivalent Anglo-Saxon presse (persa), Dutch presse, an earlier loan-word from Middle Latin pressa. Middle High German prësse, ‘crowd, throng,’ is connected with the equivalent French presse.