"pace (step, walking speed)" in seven languages
Meaningpace (step, walking speed)
Spanish
paso
/ˈpaso/
masc.inherited
French
pas
/pa/
masc.inherited
The same word as the negative pas, originally 'not a step'.
Italian
passo
/ˈpasso/
masc.inherited
Portuguese
passo
/ˈpasu/
masc.inherited
Romanian
pas
/pas/
masc.inherited
Catalan
pas
/pas/
masc.inherited
English
pace
/peɪs/
from Latin/French · Old French pas
English → Italianpace (step, walking speed)passoCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
PASSUM‘a step, stride’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
A Roman mile was a thousand paces, MĪLLE PASSUUM, which is where English mile comes from. French lost the final vowel and the s, keeping only pa.
English relatives: pass, passage, mile (MĪLLE PASSUUM)
Sound laws at work
Learn it
In a sentence
- esCaminaba a paso rápido.
- frIl marchait d'un pas rapide.
- itCamminava a passo svelto.
- ptEle caminhava a passos rápidos.
- roMergea cu pas grăbit.
- caCaminava a pas ràpid.
- enHe walked at a fast pace.