means The force pressing down or in on something — whether physical weight, atmospheric push, or the mental strain of demands and expectations.

from From Latin 'pressura,' the act of pressing, from 'premere,' to press — the same root that gives us 'press,' 'compress,' and 'express' (to squeeze out). Latin 'premere' has been crushing things since antiquity; English borrowed 'pressure' through Old French in the late Middle Ages, first for the literal squeeze and later for the metaphorical weight we feel when life leans on us.