COMPRESS, verb transitive [Latin To press. See Press.] 1. To press together by external force; to force, urge or drive into a narrower compass; to crowd; as, to compress air. The weight of a thousand atmospheres will compress water twelve and a half per cent. 2. To embrace carnally. 3. To crowd; to bring within narrow limits or space. Events of centuries--compressed within the compass of a single life. COMPRESS, noun In surgery, a bolster of soft linen cloth, with several folds, used by surgeons to cover a plaster or dressing, to keep it in its place and defend the part from the external air.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI