To press something firmly against or close to something else; to apply pressure to bring things into close contact.
From Latin 'appressus,' past participle of 'apprimere,' combining 'ad-' (to) and 'premere' (to press). This botanical and medical term entered English in the 1800s, used to describe how plant structures lie flat against surfaces.
Botanists use 'appress' to describe how ivy leaves hug walls or how flower petals lie flat against a stem—it's a technical word that captures a specific spatial relationship that 'press' alone doesn't quite nail.
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