pace

Forms

pace f (plural paci)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin pāx (“peace”), continuing its accusative pācem.^[2][3][4][1] The word is found throughout Romance: French paix, Occitan patz, Catalan pau, Spanish paz, Portuguese paz, Sardinian paghe and Romanian pace.^[3][5] Latin also lent it to Brittonic, as in Breton peoc'h, and in the Christian sense of the kiss of peace to the Celtic languages.^[6][5]

De Vaan reconstructs Proto-Italic *pāk- (“agreement, peace”), beside the verb pacīscor (“to make an agreement”) and pactum (“agreement”), and traces it to Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ḱ- (“agreement”), with Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌽 (fāhan, “to catch”) and Sanskrit पाश (pā́śa, “snare”).^[7] Nocentini and Devoto connect the root with that of pangō (“to fix, drive in”) and Ancient Greek πήγνυμι (pḗgnumi, “to fix”), so that the first meaning was “something fixed, agreed between two parties”;^[3][8][1] Wiktionary gives the root as *peh₂ǵ-.^[3][8][1] The same root gave Italian patto.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first dated sense is “peace of mind and conscience”, in Francis of Assisi about 1224.^[2] “Concord, untroubled relations” follows in Giacomo da Lentini, before 1250, who already used the word figuratively, and the political sense, “absence of war between peoples”, in Brunetto Latini, before 1294.^[2] GRADIT dates the word to the second half of the 13th century.^[4]

Semantic evolution

In the Church, pace was also the kiss of peace, given as a pledge of good faith between envoys and magistrates in the 14th and 15th centuries, and a small tablet with a sacred image that was kissed during Mass (Cellini).^[6][9] Pace e bene is the Franciscan greeting, from Latin pax et bonum.^[6] Of the dead, pace is the eternal rest of the soul.^[4][10]

The derivatives pacifico (before 1292, Guittone) and pacificare (about 1284) came through Latin, and their later fortune owed much to French;^[2] pacifismo (1908) and pacifista (1905) follow French pacifisme and pacifiste.^[2] The mediator was a paciaro in Dino Compagni (1310–1312) and a paciere from 1604.^[2] The phrase mettersi il cuore in pace, to resign oneself, follows a Milanese idiom recorded by Cherubini.^[2] In children's games pace! calls a truce.^[4]

Timeline

• About 1224 – Francis of Assisi uses pace for peace of the soul.^[2]
• Before 1250 – Giacomo da Lentini uses it for concord between people.^[2]
• About 1284 – Pacificare is recorded.^[2]
• Before 1292 – Guittone d'Arezzo uses pacifico.^[2]
• Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses pace for the absence of war.^[2]
• 1310–1312 – Paciaro (peacemaker) appears in Dino Compagni.^[2]
• 1905 – Pacifista is recorded by Panzini.^[2]
• 1908 – Pacifismo is first recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. peace, the absence of war or armed conflict: trent’anni di pace.^[4][11][12]
2. The making of peace; a peace treaty: firmare la pace, la pace di Lodi.^[4][11][10]
3. Concord, harmony between people: fare pace, to make up.^[4][10][13]
4. Peace of mind, serenity: non darsi pace, to be unable to get over something.^[4][10][14]
5. Quiet, calm: Lasciami in pace!^[4][12][14]
6. (religion) The eternal rest of the soul.^[4][10]

Interjection

1. (colloquial) That's that; never mind.^[1]
2. (children's games) Truce!^[4]

Word family

• pacifico
• pacificare
• pacificazione
• pacificatore
• pacifismo
• pacifista
• paciere
• paciaro
• pacioso

Related words

• patto
• pacioccone
• Latin pāx
• French paix

Usage notes

Pace is feminine; the plural paci is used of separate treaties or reconciliations.^[1][10] Set phrases include giudice di pace (justice of the peace), forze di pace (peacekeeping forces), con buona pace di (with all due respect to) and in santa pace (undisturbed).^[4][10][11] A minor homograph, pace /peɪs/, is the English word used in horse racing since 1927 for a horse's galloping speed.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
6. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975)
7. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
8. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
9. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti
10. ^ a b c d e f g Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
12. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
13. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
14. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli