▪ I. depress, v.
(dɪˈprɛs)
Also 4 depres(e, deprece, 5–7 depresse, (6 dyprease).
[a. OF. dépresser (Godef.), ad. L. type *dēpressāre (It. depressare), freq. of dēprimĕre to press down. (Cf. pressāre freq. of premĕre in L. use.) In Eng. taken as the repr. of L. dēprimĕre, ppl. stem dēpress-.]
† 1. trans. To put down by force, or crush in a contest or struggle; to overcome, subjugate, vanquish. Obs.
| c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. A. 777 And þou con alle þo dere out-dryf, And fro þat maryag al oþer depres. c 1340 Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 6 Ennias þe aþel and his highe kinde, Þat siþen depreced prouinces. 1432–50 tr. Higden (Rolls) I. 145 The dogges..be so greete and feerse that thei depresse bulles and peresche lyones. 1529 Frith Pistle to Chr. Rdr. (1829) 464 Her seed shal depress & also break thy head. 1671 Milton Samson 1698 So virtue..Depressed and overthrown, as seem'd..Revives, reflourishes. 1675 tr. Machiavelli's Prince iii. (Rtldg. 1883) 20 The kingdom of the Macedonians was depress'd and Antiochus driven out. |
† b. To press hard; to ply closely with questions, entreaties, etc. Obs. rare.
| c 1340 Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1770 Þat prince [= princess] of pris depresed hym so þikke.. þat nede hym bi-houed Oþer lach þer hir luf, oþer to-day refuse. |
2. To press down (in space). Often more widely: To force, bring, move, or put into a lower position by any physical action; to lower.
| 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 134 b, As the belowes, the more they depresse the flame, the more the fyre encreaseth. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. ii. ii. 61 Needles which stood before..parallel unto the Horizon, being vigorously excited, incline and bend downeward, depressing the North extreame below the Horizon. 1665 Hooke Microgr. 17 The globular figure..will be deprest into the Elliptico-spherical. 1692 in Capt. Smith's Seaman's Gram. ii. iii. 92 A Gunner's Quadrant to level, elevate, or depress his Gun. 1751 Chambers Cycl., Depression of the Pole, So many degrees as you..travel from the pole towards the equator; so many you are said to depress the pole, because it becomes..so much lower or nearer the horizon. 1774 J. Bryant Mythol. I. 321 The Palm was supposed to rise under a weight; and to thrive in proportion to its being depressed. 1822 J. Imison Sc. & Art I. 184 Alternately raising and depressing the piston. 1855 Bain Senses & Int. ii. ii §13 The sensation of a weight depressing the hand. 1880 Gunther Fishes 41 The spines can be erected or depressed at the will of the fish. |
3. fig. To lower in station, fortune, or influence; to put down, bring low, humble. Now rare.
| 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 15 b, Now they lyfte up man to honours & dignitees, & anone they depresse hym as lowe in mysery. 1648 Milton Tenure Kings Wks. 1738 I. 321 By depressing..their King far below the rank of a Subject to the condition of a Captive. 1701 Swift Contests Nobles & Com. ii, Marius..used all endeavours for depressing the nobles, and raising the people. 1777 Robertson Hist. Amer. (1778) II. vii. 280 A people depressed into the lowest state of subjection. 1857 Buckle Civiliz. I. vii. 457 Each of these vast measures has depressed a powerful party. |
† b. To keep down, repress, restrain from activity; to put down, supress; to oppress. Obs.
| a 1562 in G. Cavendish Wolsey (1818) I. 543, I request his grace..that he haue a vigilant eye to depress this newe sorte of Lutherans, that it doe not encrease. 1605 Verstegan Dec. Intell. vi. (1628) 182 The Conqueror..had no reason by still depressing the English to prouoke them to breake all bounds of obedience. 1617 Fletcher Valentinian i. iii, Pray, Depress your spirit. 1679 Penn Addr. Prot. i. 52 Therefore depress Vice and cherish Virtue. 1773 J. Ross Fratricide iv. 544 (MS.) He..stands..Depressing the keen strugglings of his breast. 1861 E. O'Curry Lect. MS. Materials 263 The descendants of the earlier colonists, depressed and enslaved by their conquerors. |
† 4. To bring down in estimation or credit; to depreciate, disparage. Obs.
| 1550 Crowley Epigr. 898 But other mens doynges they wyll euer dyprease, For other can do nought that may theyr mynde please. 1594 Hooker Eccl. Pol. iv. vii. §1 They which disgrace or depresse the credit of others. 1659 Bp. Walton Consid. Considered ii. xv, He..seeks to depresse the worth of the book. 1699 Bentley Phal. 423 Raise or depress the Character of a Man of Letters. 1791 Mackintosh Vind. Gallicæ 310 The frantic loyalty which depressed Paradise Lost. |
† b. To lower in dignity, make undignified; to debase. Obs.
| 1654 Gayton Pleas. Notes i. vi. 21 If such abilities depresse not themselves by meane subjects, but keep up the gravity of their stiles. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 39 ¶6, I prefer a noble Sentiment that is depressed with homely Language, infinitely before a vulgar one that is blown up with all the Sound and Energy of Expression. |
5. To lower or bring down in force, vigour, activity, intensity, or amount; to render weaker or less; to render dull or languid.
Now usually in relation to trade, etc., in which use it is often associated with sense 6.
| 1647 May Hist. Parl. i. ix. 110 Which must needs depresse the strength of England, and keepe it from so much greatnesse. 1710 Steele Tatler No. 241 ¶1 Wine..raises the Imagination, and depresses Judgment. 1802 Med. Jrnl. VIII. 78 That accumulation of fæces, which tends to depress and greatly impede the functions. 1831 Brewster Optics xxviii. 233 It depresses the tints in the two quadrants which the axis of the plate crosses. 1878 Jevons Prim. Pol. Econ. 122 When the trade is depressed, and when wages and interest are low. |
b. To lower in pitch, to flatten (the voice, or a musical note).
| 1530 Palsgr. 48 Whan the redar hath lyft up his voyce at the soundyng of the said vowel..he shal, whan he commeth to the last sillable, depresse his voyce agayne. 1824 Scott Redgauntlet Let. xi, He commenced his tale..in a distinct..tone of voice, which he raised and depressed with considerable skill. 1878 W. H. Stone Sci. Basis Music v. 53 If then we make each of the four fifths one-fourth of a comma flat, the resulting third is depressed a whole comma. |
6. To bring into low spirits, cast down mentally, dispirit, deject, sadden. (The chief current use.)
| 1621 Burton Anat. Mel. ii. iii. iii. (1676) 209/1 Hope refresheth as much as misery depresseth. c 1698 Locke Cond. Underst. § 39 Others..depress their own minds, despond at the first difficulty. 1712 Addison Spect. No. 249 ¶5 The Gloom which is apt to depress the Mind and damp our Spirits. 1806 J. Forbes Lett. fr. France II. 321 We came..amidst rain and wind, and depressed by ill-forebodings. 1838 Dickens Nich. Nick. xi, ‘This house depresses and chills one’, said Kate. |
† 7. Alg. To reduce to a lower degree or power.
| 1673 Wallis in Rigaud Corr. Sci. Men (1841) II. 561 The method of depressing biquadratic equations to quadratic. 1674 S. Jeake Arith. (1696) 372 The Quotients being depressed by Reduction in Species, may be brought to..52/20 + 20/4. 1816 tr. Lacroix's Diff. & Int. Calculus 193 This formula furnishes the means of depressing to unity the index of the denominator. |
▪ II. † deˈpress, ppl. a. Obs. rare.
[ad. L. dēpress-us, pa. pple. of dēprimĕre: see prec.]
= depressed.
| c 1660 Hammond Wks. I. 259 (R.) If the seal be depress or hollow, 'tis lawful to wear, but not to seal with it. |