Etymograph

English

sprain

Sprain may come from Middle French espraindre ‘to squeeze or press out’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *pres-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pres-1‘to press’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pres-1uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpremō1‘press’uncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexprimo2as exprimere‘to squeeze out, express’uncertain
  5. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*expremere3uncertain
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400espreindre3uncertain
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600espraindre2‘to squeeze or press out’uncertain
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1963sprain2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin exprimo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English sprain
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Middle French espraindre
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1963, Hare-Breadth Hurry: “Hi! I suppose you're expecting the Roadrunner! Well, he…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pres-Wiktionary, Latin exprimo‘to press’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pres-Wiktionary, Latin exprimouncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpremōWiktionary, Latin exprimo‘press’uncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexprimoWiktionary, English sprainas exprimere‘to squeeze out, express’uncertain
  5. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*expremereWiktionary, Middle French espraindreuncertain
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400espreindreWiktionary, Middle French espraindreuncertain
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600espraindreWiktionary, English sprain‘to squeeze or press out’uncertain
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1963sprainWiktionary, English sprain. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1963, Hare-Breadth Hurry: “Hi! I suppose you're expecting the Roadrunner! Well, he…”

The story

Noun attested since 1601; verb attested 1622. Possibly borrowed from Middle French espraindre (‘to squeeze or press out’), from Latin exprimere (‘to squeeze out, express’), in which case cognate to express.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *pres- ‘to press’

first, impressionable, impressionist, impressionism, expressionism, frist, 29 more

through Proto-Italic *pres-

pressure, depression, expression, impressive, impression, impress, compression, oppression, suppression, depressive, compress, depress, repress, 33 more

through Latin premō ‘press’

press, pregnant, imprint, reprimand, imprimatur, 46 more

through Latin exprimo ‘to squeeze out, express’

express, 2 more

Today it means

verb To weaken, as a joint, ligament, or muscle, by sudden and excessive exertion, as by wrenching; to overstrain, or stretch injuriously, but without luxation

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “sprain”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin exprimo, Middle French espraindre. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pres- / sprain

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