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print (prĭnt)
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n.
1.
a. A mark or impression made in or on a surface by pressure: the print of footsteps in the sand.
b. A fingerprint.
2.
a. A device or implement, such as a stamp, die, or seal, used to press markings onto or into a surface: fancy letters made by hand-carved prints.
b. Something formed or marked by such a device.
3.
a. Text, lettering, or other marks produced in ink from type as by a printing press or from digital fonts by an electronic printer: needed glasses to read the print.
b. Printed state or form: a short story that never got into print.
4. A printed publication or edition of a text; a printing: The first print of that book has sold out.
5. A design or picture transferred from an engraved plate, wood block, lithographic stone, or other medium: had prints of flowers hanging on the walls.
6. A photographic image transferred to paper or a similar surface.
7. A copy of a movie made on film or in a high resolution digital format, as for public exhibition.
8.
a. A fabric or garment with a dyed pattern that has been pressed onto it, usually by engraved rollers.
b. The pattern itself: a blouse with a paisley print.
v. print·ed, print·ing, prints
v.tr.
1. To press (a mark or design, for example) onto or into a surface: tracks that were printed in the snow.
2.
a. To make an impression on or in (a surface) with a device such as a stamp, seal, or die.
b. To press (something, such as a stamp) onto or into a surface to leave a marking.
3.
a. To produce by means of pressed type, an electronic printer, or similar means, on a paper surface: printed more copies of the ad.
b. To offer in printed form; publish: The publisher collected the essays and printed them as a book.
4.
a. To reproduce (a digital document or image) on a paper surface: printed the email.
b. To convert (a digital document) into a file format designed for publication.
5. To write (something) in characters similar to those commonly used in print.
6. To impress firmly in the mind or memory: an experience that will be printed in our hearts forever.
7. To produce a photographic image from (a negative, for example) by passing light through film onto a photosensitive surface, especially sensitized paper.
8. To produce (an electronic component) by mechanically transferring a circuit or circuit pattern onto a nonconductive surface.
9. To fabricate (an object) by means of a 3D printer.
v.intr.
1.
a. To work as a printer.
b. To produce something in printed form by means of a printing press or other reproduction process.
2. To write characters similar to those commonly used in print.
3. To produce or receive an impression, marking, or image: The negative printed poorly.
adj.
1. Published or reproduced by printing, especially in contrast to electronic publication: a print newsletter.
2. Relating to or involved in media based on printing, especially newspapers and magazines: a print journalist.
Idioms:
in print
1. In printed or published form: denials that were to be found in print.
2. Offered for sale by a publisher: books that are still in print.
out of print
No longer offered for sale by a publisher: books that are out of print.

[Middle English prent, print, from Old French priente, from feminine past participle of preindre, to press, alteration (on the model of the more common type of Old French verb having an infinitive ending in -ndre, such as peindre, to paint) of priembre, from Latin premere; see per-4 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.