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pace

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pace1 step

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /peɪs/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English pas, borrowed from Old French pas (“step, pace”) and directly from Latin passus (“step, stride”),[2][3][4] literally “a stretch of the leg”, a noun use of the past participle of pandere (“to stretch, spread out”),[2][4][5] which Watkins traces to Proto-Indo-European *pete- (“to spread”).[2] It is related to pass, passage and expand.[6][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A way of life or course of action: about 1280 in Barnhart.[3] A step in walking, the late 13th century in Etymonline.[2]

Semantic evolution

In early use it could also mean a journey or route.[6] Manner of walking, gait, is from 1297, and speed from before 1300.[7][3] The distance covered by one step, a measure of length, is from 1382.[7][2] Put through one's paces, from horse-riding, is from the mid-18th century.[6] The verb, to walk with regular steps, is from the 1510s,[2][3] to measure by pacing from the 1570s,[2] and to set the pace for another from 1886.[2] A change of pace, in the sense of tempo, is from the 1950s, and pace yourself from the 1970s.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 1280 – a course of action.[3]
  • 1297 – a manner of walking.[7]
  • 1382 – a measure of distance.[7]
  • 1510s – the verb.[2]
  • 1886 – to set the pace.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The speed at which someone or something moves or happens.
  2. A single step in walking, or the length of one step.
  3. A manner of walking or running; a gait.

Verb

  1. To walk back and forth, especially when worried.
  2. To measure a distance by counting steps.
  3. To set the speed for someone, or to spread one's effort over time.

pace2 with due respect to

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈpeɪ.si/, /ˈpɑː.tʃeɪ/, /ˈpɑː.keɪ/[1]

Etymology

The preposition is borrowed from Latin pāce, the ablative of pāx (“peace”), as in pāce tuā “by your leave”,[2][4][5] from Proto-Indo-European *pag- (“to fasten”).[2] See peace.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

With due respect to someone named: 1863 in Etymonline and MWU,[2][8] while the SOED dates it to the late 18th century.[5]

Semantic evolution

It is used chiefly as a courteous or ironical apology for disagreeing with someone.[2][5] It is sometimes misused as though it meant “according to”, the opposite of its sense.[2]

Timeline

  • 1863 – with due respect to.[2][8]

Modern meaning

Preposition

  1. (formal) With due respect to someone, used when disagreeing with them.

Usage notes

Pace, Easter, as in pace egg, is a Scottish and northern variant of pasch.[5][8]

References

  1. ^ a b Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster