• Pace

    Pronunciation

    • UK IPA: /peɪs/
    • Rhymes: -eɪs

    Origin 1

    From Anglo-Norman pas, Old French pas, and their source, Latin passus.

    Full definition of pace

    Noun

    pace

    (plural paces)
    1. (obsolete) Passage, route.
      1. (obsolete) One's journey or route. 14th-18th century
      2. (obsolete) A passage through difficult terrain; a mountain pass or route vulnerable to ambush etc. 14th-17th century
        • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.1:But when she saw them gone she forward went,
          As lay her journey, through that perlous Pace ....
      3. (obsolete) An aisle in a church. 15th-19th century
      4. Step.
        1. A step taken with the foot. from 14th century
        2. The distance covered in a step (or sometimes two), either vaguely or according to various specific set measurements.How Many? A Dictionary of Units of Measurement: English Customary Weights and Measures, © Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (§: Distance, ¶ № 6)
    from 14th century
      1. Even at the duel, standing 10 paces apart, he could have satisfied Aaron’s honor.I have perambulated your field, and estimate its perimeter to be 219 paces.
    1. Way of stepping.
      1. A manner of walking, running or dancing; the rate or style of how someone moves with their feet. from 14th century
        • 2012, June 9, Owen Phillips, Euro 2012: Netherlands 0-1 Denmark, Netherlands, one of the pre-tournament favourites, combined their undoubted guile, creativity, pace and attacking quality with midfield grit and organisation.
      2. Any of various gaits of a horse, specifically a 2-beat, lateral gait. from 15th century
      3. Speed or velocity in general. from 15th century
      4. (cricket) A measure of the hardness of a pitch and of the tendency of a cricket ball to maintain its speed after bouncing. from 19th century
      5. The collective noun for donkeys.
        • 1952, G. B. Stern, The Donkey Shoe, The Macmillan Company (1952), page 29:but at Broadstairs and other places along the coast, a pace of donkeys stood on the sea-shore expectant (at least, their owners were expectant) of children clamouring to ride.
        • 2006, "Drop the dead donkeys", The Economist, 9 November 2006:A pace of donkeys fans out in different directions.
        • 2007, Elinor De Wire, The Lightkeepers' Menagerie: Stories of Animals at Lighthouses, Pineapple Press (2007), ISBN 9781561643905, page 200:Like a small farm, the lighthouse compound had its chattering of chicks, pace of donkeys, troop of horses, and fold of sheep.

    Adjective

    pace

    1. (cricket) Describing a bowler who bowls fast balls.

    Verb

    1. Walk to and fro in a small space.
    2. Set the speed in a race.
    3. Measure by walking.

    Derived terms

    Pronunciation

    • RP IPA: /ˈpeısiː/, /ˈpɑːtʃe/, /ˈpɑːke/

    Origin 2

    From Latin pace, “in peace”, ablative form of pax, “peace”.

    Preposition

    1. (formal) With all due respect to.

    Usage notes

    Used when expressing a contrary opinion, in formal speech or writing.

    Pronunciation

    Origin 3

    Alteration of Pasch.

    Noun

    pace

    (plural paces)
    1. Easter.

    Derived terms

    Anagrams

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