pacific English · revision 4297

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=a. 1548|origins=la pacificus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /pəˈsɪf.ɪk/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|frm|pacifique]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) a learned borrowing from [[la|pācificus|t=peaceful, peacemaking]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from pāx (genitive pācis) “peace” and the root of facere “to make”,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from [[ine-pro|*dʰeh₁-|alt=*dhe-|t=to set, put]].^(Etymonline) It is related to [[peace]], [[pacify]] and [[pacifist]].^(Hoad 1986)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ “Making, or tending to make, peace; conciliatory”: before 1548 in the OED and Barnhart,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) the 1540s in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) The spelling pacific, after Latin, is from Milton's Paradise Lost, 1667.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Middle English already had pacifical “peace-loving”, from 1464.^(Barnhart 1988) “Of peaceful disposition, not belligerent” is from 1641,^(OED 1989) and “characterized by peace or calm, tranquil” from 1633,^(OED 1989) the 1630s in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) The ''Pacific Ocean'' was named Mare Pacificum by Magellan in 1519, when he sailed into it and found it calmer than he expected;^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(Barnhart 1988) the Italian Pigafetta, who sailed with him, recorded the name.^(Etymonline) In English it appears as Pacificum in 1555 and as Pacific in 1660.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The Century Dictionary distinguished pacific, making or wishing to make peace, from peaceable, disposed to be at peace, and peaceful, in a state of peace.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1464 – ''pacifical''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * a. 1548 – peacemaking.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1555 – Pacificum, the ocean.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1633 – calm, tranquil.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1641 – of peaceful disposition.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1660 – the Pacific Ocean.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1667 – the spelling pacific.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Tending to lessen or end conflict; [[conciliatory]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Of a [[peaceful]] nature; calm, [[tranquil]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[pacifically]]

+ * [[pacificism]]

+ * [[Pacific Ocean]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[pacify]]

+ * [[pacifism]]

+ * [[pacifist]]

+ * [[peace]]

+ * [[pacification]]

+ * [[pact]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Capitalized, Pacific refers to the Pacific Ocean and the lands around it; the American Pacific Northwest is so called by 1889.^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}