Etymograph

English

pace

Pace comes from Middle English pase, and goes back to Latin passus.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpassus1
  2. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400pas1
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500pase1
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1590pace1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English pace
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book II, Canto IX: “For with ſuch puiſſance and impetuous maine / Thoſe…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpassusWiktionary, English pace
  2. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400pasWiktionary, English pace
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500paseWiktionary, English pace
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1590paceWiktionary, English pace. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book II, Canto IX: “For with ſuch puiſſance and impetuous maine / Thoſe…”

Linked words

through Latin passus

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

Another origin of pace

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₂ḱ-‘to join, to attach’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*péh₂ḱ-s‘peace’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pāks‘peace’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpāx‘peace’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpāce‘in peace’ablative form of pāx
  6. Englishtodaypace

Today it means

noun A step taken with the foot.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “pace”. 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 / Latin passus / pace

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