'appress' originates from Latin, specifically the verb 'apprimere' / 'appressare', where the prefix 'ad-/ap-' meant 'to' and the root 'primere/pressare' meant 'to press'.

'appress' passed into Old French as 'apresser' (to press to) and into Middle English as 'appressen,' eventually becoming the modern English 'appress'.

Initially it meant 'to bring or press toward' in a general sense; over time it narrowed to the idea of pressing closely or making two surfaces lie flat against one another.