An obsolete or archaic past tense of 'compel' or an old form meaning pressed or compressed together.
From Middle English, possibly a variant or past tense form of 'compress' or 'compel.' It appears in historical texts but is no longer in standard use.
Old English and Middle English had tons of irregular verbs with weird past tenses like 'comprest'—most disappeared as English simplified its verb system over centuries.
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