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Etymology and origin of the Romanian word pas

pas1 step, pace

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1521 Slavonic–Romanian documents
Inherited from
Latin passus
Ultimate origin
Latin passus
Etymology tree of pas1
inherited borrowed derived
Latin pandō
Latin passus
French pas
Italian passo
Romanian pas
Spanish paso
From the same root · pas1
Latin expandō ← pandō
Latin pandus ← pandō
Latin passim ← pandō
Latin passīvus ← pandō
Latin passum ← pandō

Pronunciation

Forms

pas m (plural pași)[1]

Etymology

The word for “step, pace” is inherited from Latin passus (“step, pace”).[2][3][4][1] Its Romance cognates include Italian passo, French pas, Spanish paso and Portuguese passo, and Albanian pas (“fathom”) from the same Latin word.[2][5][6] The Latin noun is formed on the supine stem of pandō (“to spread out”), originally the spreading of the legs.[7]

The verb păsa “to walk” (now only in ⟨pas(ă) de⟩ “in no way”) is probably straight from Latin *passō, while păși “to step” and păsui “to grant a delay” are Romanian derivatives.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is of 1521, in the Romanian words of the Slavonic–Romanian documents.[8] In Romanian texts the word is in the Slavonic–Romanian lexicon of c. 1660.[9] MDA2's and DLR's first record is Dosoftei's verse Psalter: „Și spre tine-mi deregi pașii” “and direct my steps towards thee”.[10][3]

Semantic evolution

Besides the movement and the distance covered, the word came to mean the gait, the steps of a dance, a measure of length, and figuratively a stage or advance, as in un pas înainte “a step forward, progress”.[4][3] The old phrase a da pas “to give someone time, to let something happen” is quoted from a chronicle in which an envoy gave them no more than half an hour.[8] Next to the masculine plural pași, Budai-Deleanu used pasuri.[8] The neuter with the plural pasuri is now the technical term for the pitch of a screw thread or of a gear, which DN takes from French pas.[4][11]

Timeline

  • 1521 – a record in the Slavonic–Romanian documents.[8]
  • c. 1660 – pas in the Slavonic–Romanian lexicon Lex.St.[9]
  • 1671 – in Dosoftei's verse Psalter, MDA2's first record.[3]
  • 1688 – pașii “the steps” in the Bucharest Bible.[12]

Meanings

Noun

  1. a step: each of the alternating movements of the legs in walking; the distance so covered; a short distance;[4][3][1] pas cu pas “step by step”, la tot pasul “at every step, everywhere”.[4][3][1]
  2. (figurative) a stage; an advance, progress; an act, a decision: primul pas “the first step”.[4][1]
  3. a way of walking, gait; a march step: pas de defilare “parade step”; the steps of a dance.[4][1]
  4. a measure of length equal to a step.[4]
  5. (dated) a footprint;[4] a călca pe pașii cuiva “to follow someone's example”.[4]
  6. (neuter, plural pasuri, technology) the pitch of a thread or of the teeth of a gear: pas de filet.[4][11]

Word family

  • păși
  • păsui
  • păsuială
  • propăși
  • propășitor
  • depăși

pas2 mountain pass, passport

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1829
Borrowed from
German Pass
Ultimate origin
German Pass

Pronunciation

Forms

pas n (plural pasuri)[1]

Etymology

The word for “mountain pass, passport” is borrowed from German Pass, also influenced by French pas.[4][3][10][1] Tiktin gives both German and French;[8][10] DLR takes the word from German and compares French only for the sense “mountain pass”.[8][10] DER lists this neuter noun among the French loans in the family of the inherited word for “step”.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record, in the sense “passport”, is in a periodical of 1829: the number of passports issued between April 1828 and April 1829 exceeded 3,000.[10][3] Tiktin dates the sense “mountain pass” from 1851.[8]

Semantic evolution

The sense “passport” belonged to the 19th century: Bălcescu says he showed a French pas;[10][4] DLR marks the sense as old and regional.[10][4] Regionally it meant a permit to sell or buy cattle.[10][3] The sense “mountain pass” is now rare outside place names such as Pasul Bran.[13][1]

Timeline

  • 1829 – pasuri “passports” in a periodical, the first record.[10][3]
  • 1851 – the sense “mountain pass”.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. a mountain pass: a narrow, lower way along a valley between mountains or hills; a trecătoare.[4][3][1]
  2. (obsolete) a passport.[4][1]
  3. (regional) a permit for selling or buying cattle.[3]

Usage notes

DEX numbers these words pas³ (“step”, masculine, plural pași) and pas² (“mountain pass”, neuter, plural pasuri).[4] DEX's pas¹ is the card players' word pas “pass, I don't open”, also pas parol, from French (je) passe, recorded from 1934.[4][3] A further pas (plural pasuri) is the wooden compass of coopers, carpenters and masons, recorded from 1645: DER calls it of uncertain origin;[2][8][4][10] Tiktin thinks of Italian compasso, perhaps influenced by Serbo-Croatian pas (“belt”), and DER prefers the Serbian word, comparing pașnic “compass” from Serbian pasnik, whereas DEX and DLR file it under pas³, comparing compas.[2][8][4][10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Ciorănescu, Alexandru (1958–1966), Diccionario etimológico rumano, La Laguna: Universidad de La Laguna (Romanian ed.: Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române, București: Saeculum, 2001), p. s.v. pas
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 277
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 779
  5. ^ Pușcariu, Sextil (1905), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der rumänischen Sprache I: Lateinisches Element, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. 111
  6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 6271
  7. ^ Graur, Alexandru (1980), Cuvinte înrudite, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică, p. 66
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. pas
  9. ^ a b Ungureanu, Mădălina; Gînsac, Ana-Maria; Moruz, Alexandru (eds.), eRomLex: The First Romanian Bilingual Dictionaries (17th century), Iași: Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, https://scriptadacoromanica.ro, p. s.v. pas
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. pas
  11. ^ a b Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. pas
  12. ^ Biblia, adecă Dumnezeiasca Scriptură a ceii vechi și a ceii noao leage, București, 1688 (ed. 1988, tricentennial edition), p. Psalms 16:5
  13. ^ Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 3, 333

Related etymologies

  • casă · also from German
  • lac · also from German
  • rută · also from German
  • arie · also from German
  • laț · also from German
  • must · also from German
  • telefon · also from German
  • spital · also from German
Cite this entry

“Pas.” Etymologically, 11 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ro/pas. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

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