Etymograph

English

peace

Peace comes from Middle English pees, from Anglo-Norman peis and Old French pais, from Latin pāx ‘peace’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ḱ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₂ḱ-1‘to fasten’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*péh₂ḱs1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pāks1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpāx1
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400pais1
  6. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400peis1
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500pees1
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1611peace1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English peace
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “*Thinke not that I am come to ſend peace…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₂ḱ-Wiktionary, English peace‘to fasten’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*péh₂ḱsWiktionary, English peacereconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pāksWiktionary, English peacereconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpāxWiktionary, English peace
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400paisWiktionary, English peace
  6. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400peisWiktionary, English peace
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500peesWiktionary, English peace
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1611peaceWiktionary, English peace. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “*Thinke not that I am come to ſend peace…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with peace, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ḱ- ‘to fasten, stick, place’

  • fair ← fayr ← fæġer ← *fagr ← *fagraz
  • pact ← pacte ← pactum ← pacīscor ← pacō
  • fang ← *fangtooth ← fengtōþ ← fōn ← *fą̄han
  • fay ← feyen ← fēġan ← *fōgijan ← *fōgijaną
  • gaffe ← gaf ← 𐌲𐌰𐍆𐌰𐌷 ← 𐍆𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌽 ← *fanhaną

through Latin pāx

through Old French pais

  • peasant ← paissaunt ← paisant ← païsant

15 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

noun A state of tranquility, quiet, and harmony. For instance, a state free from civil disturbance.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “peace”. 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 *peh₂ḱ- / peace