παῦσις

Forms

παῦσῐς (paûsis) f (genitive παύσεως); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek παύω (paúō, “to stop”) + -σις (-sis).^[1][2][3] Beekes lists it among the derivatives of the verb as a rare word beside the commoner ἀνάπαυσις (anápausis, “rest”) and παῦλα (paûla, “rest, pause”).^[4] The verb itself is unexplained: its form would allow a reconstruction Proto-Indo-European *peh₂u-, but it has no certain cognates outside Greek.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest text with it in the GLAUx corpus is the fifth book of the Hippocratic Epidemics, and Beekes also cites Hippocrates; the sense is a stopping or ceasing.^[5][4]

Semantic evolution

The word stayed rare in Ancient Greek, where ἀνάπαυσις (anápausis) and παῦλα (paûla) were the usual nouns.^[4][5] The Septuagint has it once, in Jeremiah (31[48]:2), in the phrase παῦσιν παύσεται, “it shall come to a complete stop”,^[6][7] and Lust counts it among the words first found in the Septuagint.^[6][7] Galen still uses it in the 2nd century AD.^[5]

It was borrowed into Latin as pausa “a halt, cessation”,^[8][9] the source of English pause.^[9] Modern Greek revived it as the learned παύση (páfsi), which means a stopping or interruption, a break in speech, and the dismissal of an official from office; in the plural it was once used of the school holidays.^[10][7] The sense of a pause in speech or music follows French pause.^[10][11]

Timeline

• 5th century BC – The Hippocratic Epidemics has it.^[5][4][12]
• 2nd century BC – The Septuagint's Jeremiah uses it once, of a nation brought to an end.^[6][5]
• 2nd century AD – Galen uses it.^[5][12]
• Early 15th century – English pause is first recorded, from Old French and Latin pausa.^[9]
• Modern Greek – The learned παύση (páfsi) means a stop, a pause and a dismissal from office.^[10][7]

Meanings

Noun

1. A stopping, cessation, an end.^[13][6][14]
2. An interruption, a break.^[15]

Related words

• παύω (paúō)
• ἀνάπαυσις (anápausis)
• παῦλα (paûla)
• Latin pausa
• English pause

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Bailly, Anatole (2020), Dictionnaire grec-français, Bailly 2020 Hugo Chávez ed., ed. Gérard Gréco et al.
3. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, online ed., https://www.koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c d e Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c d e f Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
6. ^ a b c d Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
7. ^ a b c d Πάπυρος–Larousse–Britannica, Μέγα Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Πάπυρος
8. ^ Saalfeld, Günther Alexander (1874), Index Graecorum vocabulorum in linguam latinam translatorum, Berlin: Weidmann
9. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b c Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
11. ^ Ακαδημία Αθηνών (2014), Χρηστικό Λεξικό της Νεοελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Academy of Athens
12. ^ a b Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
13. ^ Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
14. ^ Korinthios, J. (2025), Grande Dizionario Greco Classico: Greco–Italiano, digital ed., Milan: Hoepli
15. ^ Woordenboek Grieks/Nederlands (2012–), Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, https://woordenboekgrieks.nl