Etymograph

English

compass

Compass comes from Medieval Latin compassus ‘a circle, a circuit’, from Latin passus ‘a pace, step, later a pass, way, route’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- ‘to spread’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peth₂-1‘to spread’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pat-s-tus1reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpassus2‘a pace, step, later a pass, way, route’next step skipped: Medieval Latin compatior
  4. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500compassus2‘a circle, a circuit’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400compas2
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500compas2‘a circle, circuit, limit, form, a mathematical instrument’
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588compass2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin passus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English compass
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “Then when our powers in points of ſwords are…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peth₂-Wiktionary, Latin passus‘to spread’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pat-s-tusWiktionary, Latin passusreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpassusWiktionary, English compass‘a pace, step, later a pass, way, route’next step skipped: Medieval Latin compatior
  4. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500compassusWiktionary, English compass‘a circle, a circuit’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400compasWiktionary, English compass
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500compasWiktionary, English compass‘a circle, circuit, limit, form, a mathematical instrument’
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588compassWiktionary, English compass. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “Then when our powers in points of ſwords are…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- ‘to spread’

repeat, pen, expansion, petition, expand, helicopter, patent, compete, feather, perpetual, competitor, symptom, perpetuate, spawn, impetus, expanse, perpetuity, pennant, petulant, pinion, patina, impetuous, patella, penna, pata, petulance, 80 more

through Latin passus ‘a pace, step, later a pass, way, route’

mile, pace, passage, passive, pas, trespass, passable, 8 more

Another origin of compass

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400compasser‘to compass’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500compassen‘to go around, make a circuit, draw a circle, contrive, intend’
  3. Englishtodaycompass

Today it means

noun A magnetic or electronic device used to determine the cardinal directions (usually magnetic or true north).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “compass”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin passus. 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 *peth₂- / compass

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