Compression

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /kəmˈpɹɛʃ.ən/

Definitions

1. The act of pressing or squeezing something into a smaller space or volume, or the state of being pressed together
2. The action or process of reducing the size or volume of an object or data by applying pressure or by systematic methods, leading to a result that occupies less space or is more compacted
3. The process of applying force to decrease the dimensions of an object by making it more compact ; the method of shrinking digital information to occupy less storage or bandwidth by encoding it efficiently

Etymology: "Compression" is a plain, transparent formation: it came into English by borrowing from Middle French "compression," which in turn descends from Latin "compressiō," a noun built from "compress" plus the suffix "-ion." The Latin base "comprimere" joined "com-" (together) with "premere" (to press), so the word's core idea is pressing things together. The suffix "-ion" turns the verb into a noun naming the act or result of that action. The word's history is therefore a steady one: the sense of forcing something into a smaller space was present from its Latin origins and has not shifted dramatically. Its earliest English use came through the scholarly and technical vocabulary that Middle French supplied, which is why it sounds more formal than many native English words for the same physical action.

Synonyms: squeezing, condensation, contraction, crushing, pressing

Antonyms: expansion, dilation, enlargement, broadening, spreading