machines that apply pressure to compress or flatten objects, or groups of journalists collectively.
From Old French 'presse,' derived from Latin 'pressare' (to push or press). The machine sense dates to the 1400s; the journalistic sense emerged in the 1600s-1700s.
The 'press' as journalism originated because printing presses were the only way to mass-produce information—once printing became powerful, the word 'press' absorbed all the political and social power of printed media itself, which is why we still call journalists 'the press.'
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