Online Etymology Dictionary

presidential (adj.): c. 1600, "pertaining to a president," from Medieval Latin praesidentialis, from praesidentia "office of a president" (see presidency). Related: Presidentially.
presidio (n.): 1808, American English, from Spanish presidio "fort, settlement," from Latin praesidium "defense, protection," from praesidere "to sit before, protect" (see preside).
Presidium (n.): permanent administrative committee of the U.S.S.R., 1924, from Russian prezidium, from Latin praesidium "a presiding over, defense," from praesidere (see preside).
press (n.): c. 1300, presse, "crowd, throng, company; crowding and jostling of a throng; a massing together," from Old French presse (n.) "throng, crush, crowd; wine or cheese press" (11c.), from Latin pressare (see press (v.1)). Late Old English had press "clothes press."

Meaning "device for pressing cloth" is from late 14c., as is also the sense "device to squeeze juice from grapes, oil from olives, cider from apples, etc.," from Middle French presse. Specific sense "machine for printing" is from 1530s; this was extended to publishing houses by 1570s and to publishing generally (in phrases like freedom of the press) from c. 1680. This gradually shifted c. 1800-1820 to "periodical publishing, journalism." The press, meaning "journalists collectively" is attested from 1921 (though superseded by media since the rise of television, etc.).

Press agent is from 1873; press conference is attested from 1931, though the thing itself dates to at least World War I. Press secretary is recorded from 1940. Via the sense "crowd, throng," Middle English in press meant "in public," a coincidental parallel to the modern phrase in the press. Weightlifting sense is from 1908. The basketball defense so called from 1959 (in full-court press).
press (v.1): "push against," early 14c., "to clasp, embrace;" mid-14c. "to squeeze out;" also "to cluster, gather in a crowd;" late 14c., "to press against, exert pressure," also "assault, assail;" also "forge ahead, push one's way, move forward," from Old French presser "squeeze, press upon; torture" (13c.), from Latin pressare "to press," frequentative formation from pressus, past participle of premere "to press, hold fast, cover, crowd, compress," from PIE *per- (4) "to strike." Related: Pressed; pressing. Figurative sense is from late 14c. Meaning "to urge, argue for" is from 1590s.
press (v.2): "force into service," 1570s, alteration (by association with press (v.1)) of prest (mid-14c.) "engage by loan, pay in advance," especially money paid to a soldier or sailor on enlisting, from Latin praestare "to stand out, stand before; fulfill, perform, provide," from prae- "before" (see pre-) + stare "to stand," from PIE root *stā- "to stand" (see stet). Related to praesto (adv.) "ready, available." Related: Pressed; pressing.
press-gang (n.): 1690s, from press (v.2) + gang (n.).
pressing (adj.): "exerting pressure," mid-14c., present participle adjective from press (v.1). Sense of "urgent, compelling, forceful" is from 1705. Related: Pressingly.
pressman (n.): 1590s, from press (n.) + man (n.).
pressroom (n.): 1680s, from press (n.) + room (n.).
pressure (n.): late 14c., "suffering, anguish; act or fact of pressing on the mind or heart," from Old French presseure "oppression; torture; anguish; press" (for wine or cheeses), "instrument of torture" (12c.) and directly from Latin pressura "action of pressing," from pressus, past participle of premere "to press" (see press (v.1)).

Literal meaning "act or fact of pressing" in a physical sense is attested from early 15c. Meaning "moral or mental coercing force" is from 1620s; meaning "urgency" is from 1812. Scientific sense in physics is from 1650s. Pressure cooker is attested from 1915; figurative sense is from 1958. Pressure point is attested from 1876. Pressure-treated, of woods, is from 1911.
pressure (v.): "to pressurize," 1886, American English, from pressure (n.). Meaning "to exert pressure on" (someone) is attested by 1922. Related: Pressured; pressuring.
pressurization (n.): 1937, from pressure + -ization.
pressurize (v.): 1938 (implied in pressurized), from pressure (n.) + -ize. Related: Pressurizing.
Prester John: c. 1300, Prestre Johan, legendary medieval Christian king and priest, said to have ruled either in the Far East or Ethiopia. From Vulgar Latin *prester, a transition between Latin presbyter and English priest. First mentioned in the West by mid-12c. chronicler Otto of Freising, who told how Johannes Presbyter won a great victory over the Persians and the Medes. Between 1165 and 1177 a forged letter purporting to be from him circulated in Europe. All this recalls the time when the Christian West was culturally backwards and militarily threatened, dreaming of a mythical deliverer. Compare Old French prestre Jehan (13c.), Italian prete Gianni.
prestidigitation (n.): 1843, from French prestidigitation, which was coined along with prestidigitator (q.v.).
prestidigitator (n.): 1843, from French prestidigitateur, a hybrid coined 1830 by Jules de Rovère (who sought a new word, "qui s'accorderait mieux à ses nobles origines" to replace escamoteur and physicien), roughly based on Latin praestigiator "juggler" (see prestigious); influenced by Italian presto "quick," a conjuror's word (see presto), and by Latin digitus "finger" (see digit).
prestige (n.): 1650s, "trick," from French prestige (16c.) "deceit, imposture, illusion" (in Modern French, "illusion, magic, glamour"), from Latin praestigium "delusion, illusion" (see prestigious). Derogatory until 19c.; sense of "dazzling influence" first applied 1815, to Napoleon.
prestigious (adj.): 1540s, "practicing illusion or magic, deceptive," from Latin praestigious "full of tricks," from praestigiae "juggler's tricks," probably altered by dissimilation from praestrigiae, from praestringere "to blind, blindfold, dazzle," from prae "before" (see pre-) + stringere "to tie or bind" (see strain (v.)). Derogatory until 19c.; meaning "having dazzling influence" is attested from 1913 (see prestige). Related: Prestigiously; prestigiousness.
presto (adv.): 1590s, "quickly," used by conjurers, etc., from Italian presto "quick, quickly" in conjuror's patter, from Latin praestus "ready," praesto (adv.) "ready, available," from prae "before" (see pre-) + stare "to stand," from PIE root *stā- "to stand" (see stet). Compare Latin praesto esse "to be at hand, be ready," source of French prêt "ready." As a musical direction, it is a separate borrowing from Italian, first recorded 1683.
presumable (adj.): 1690s, from presume + -able.
presumably (adv.): 1640s, "with presumption, without examination," from presumable + -ly (2). As a qualifier, "probably, as one would presume," from 1830.
presume (v.): late 14c., "to take upon oneself, to take liberty," also "to take for granted, presuppose," especially overconfidently, from Old French presumer (12c.) and directly from Latin praesumere "anticipate," in Late Latin, "assume" (see presumption). Related: Presumed; presumedly; presuming.
presumption (n.): mid-13c., "seizure and occupation without right," also "taking upon oneself more than is warranted," from Old French presumcion (12c., Modern French présomption) and directly from Late Latin praesumptionem (nominative praesumptio) "confidence, audacity," in classical Latin, "a taking for granted, anticipation," noun of action from past participle stem of praesumere "to take beforehand," from prae "before" (see pre-) + sumere "to take" (see exempt (adj.)). In English, the meaning "the taking of something for granted" is attested from c. 1300. Presumptuous preserves the older sense.
presumptive (adj.): "speculative," mid-15c., from French présomptif (15c.), from Medieval Latin presumptivus, from Late Latin praesumptivus, from Latin praesumpt- past participle stem of praesumere (see presume). The heir presumptive (1620s) is "presumed" to be the heir if the heir apparent is unavailable. Related: Presumptively.
presumptuous (adj.): mid-14c., from Old French presumtuex (12c.; Modern French présomptueux) and directly from Late Latin praesumptuosus, variant of praesumptiosus, from past participle stem of Latin praesumere "anticipate," in Late Latin, "assume" (see presumption). Related: Presumptuously; presumptuousness.
presuppose (v.): mid-15c., from Old French presupposer (14c.), from Medieval Latin praesupponere; see pre- + suppose. Related: Presupposed; presupposing.
presupposition (n.): 1530s, from Middle French présupposition and directly from Medieval Latin praesuppositionem (nominative praesuppositio), noun of action from past participle stem of Latin praesupponere, from prae "before" (see pre-) + suppositio (see suppose).
pret a porter (adj.): 1957, from French prêt à porter, "ready-to-wear." For pret, see presto. Porter is literally "to carry," from Latin portare "to carry" (see port (n.1)). For a similar sense evolution, compare German kleider tragen.
pretend (v.): late 14c., "to profess, assert, maintain" (a claim, etc.), "to direct (one's) efforts," from Old French pretendre "to lay claim," from Latin praetendere "stretch in front, put forward, allege," from prae "before" (see pre-) + tendere "to stretch," from PIE root *ten- "to stretch" (see tend).

Main modern sense of "feign, put forward a false claim" is recorded from c. 1400; the older sense of simply "to claim" is behind the string of royal pretenders (1690s) in English history. Meaning "to play, make believe" is recorded from 1865. In 17c. pretend also could mean "make a suit of marriage for," from a sense in French. Related: Pretended; pretending.
pretend (n.): "fact of pretending," 1888, from children's talk, from pretend (v.). Earlier in same sense was verbal noun pretending (1640s).
pretended (adj.): mid-15c., "so-called," past participle adjective from pretend (v.).
pretender (n.): 1590s, "one who intends;" 1620s as "one who puts forth a claim;" agent noun from pretend (v.). Specifically of a claimant to the English throne from 1690s.
pretense (n.): also pretence, early 15c., "the putting forth of a claim," from Anglo-French pretensse, Middle French pretensse (Modern French prétense), from Medieval Latin noun use of fem. of Late Latin praetensus, altered from Latin praetentus, past participle of praetendere (see pretend). Meaning "false or hypocritical profession" is from 1540s.
pretension (n.): mid-15c., "assertion, allegation; objection; intention; signification," from Medieval Latin pretensionem (nominative praetensio), noun of action from past participle stem of Latin praetendere "stretch in front, put forward, allege" (see pretend (v.)). Meaning "unproven claim" is from c. 1600. Sense of "ostentation" is from 1727.
pretentious (adj.): 1836, from French prétentieux (17c.), from prétention "pretension," from Medieval Latin pretentionem (nominative pretentio) "pretension," noun of action from past participle stem of Latin praetendere (see pretend (v.)).
preter-: also praeter-, word-forming element meaning "beyond," from Latin praeter (adverb and preposition) "beyond, before, above, more than," properly comparative of prae "before" (see pre-).
preterhuman (adj.): 1803, from preter- + human (adj.).
preterist (n.): "one who favors the past," 1864 (as a theological term from 1843, "one who holds that the Apocalyptic prophecies have begun to be fulfilled"), from preter- + -ist.
preterite (adj.): mid-14c., "having to do with the past," from Old French preterit "past tense" (13c.) and directly from Latin praeteritum (as in tempus praeteritum "time past"), past participle of praeterire "to go by, go past," from praeter "beyond, before, above, more than" (see prae-) + itum, past participle of ire "to go" (see ion). Grammar sense is late 14c. The word also was a noun in Middle English meaning "past times" (late 14c.). Related: Preteritive. Preterite-present attested from 1813.
preterm (adj.): also pre-term, 1928, from pre- + term (n.).
pretermission (n.): 1580s, from Latin pretermissionem (nominative pretermissio), noun of action from past participle stem of praetermittere (see pretermit).
pretermit (v.): 1510s, from Latin praetermittere "let pass, overlook," from praeter- (see preter-) + mittere (see mission). Related: Pretermitted; pretermitting.
preternatural (adj.): 1570s, from Medieval Latin preternaturalis (mid-13c.), from Latin phrase praeter naturam (praeterque fatum) "beyond nature (and beyond fate)," from praeter "beyond" (see preterite) + accusative of natura "nature" (see natural). "Preternatural is used especially to note that which might have been a work of nature, but is not" [Century Dictionary].
preterperfect (n.): 1530s, from Late Latin praeteritum perfectum "complete past;" see preter- + perfect (adj.). Related: Preterpluperfect.
pretest: also pre-test, 1949 (v. and n.), from pre- + test.
pretext (n.): 1510s, from French prétexte, from Latin praetextum "a pretext, outward display," noun use of neuter past participle of praetexere "to disguise, cover," literally "weave in front" (for sense, compare pull the wool over (someone's) eyes); from prae- "in front" (see pre-) + texere "to weave," from PIE root *teks- "to weave, to make" (see texture (n.)).
pretrial (n.): "preliminary hearing before a trial," 1938, American English, from pre- + trial.
prettification (n.): 1902, noun of action from prettify.
prettify (v.): 1836, from pretty (adj.) + -fy. Related: Prettified; prettifying.