ingress
UK[ˈɪnɡrɛs]US[ˈɪnˌɡrɛs]
n
the act or right of entering a place, building, or area
n
a place or means of entry; an entrance
Morpheme Breakdown
in
gress
in
into
gress
step, go
Etymology
The word 'ingress' is a direct borrowing from Latin 'ingressus', the past participle of 'ingredi', meaning "to go into, enter". This Latin verb is itself a compound of the prefix 'in-' ("into") and the verb 'gradi' ("to step, walk"). The core concept of stepping or walking into a space has been retained in English, where it formally denotes the act, right, or physical point of entry. It stands in semantic opposition to 'egress' (from 'ex-' meaning "out" + 'gradi'), completing the pair for entering and exiting.
Analysis
Structure: in (into) + gress (step, go)
'in' is a Latin prefix meaning "into, in, on, upon". 'gress' is from the Latin root '-gressus', the past participle stem of 'gradi' meaning "to step, go, walk".
Examples
The contract guarantees the utility company ingress to the property for maintenance.
The main ingress to the stadium was blocked by the crowd.
The data logs every user's ingress and egress from the system.