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)- (obsolete) Passage, route.
- (obsolete) One's journey or route. 14th-18th century
- (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 .... - (obsolete) An aisle in a church. 15th-19th century
- Step.
- A step taken with the foot. from 14th century
- 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)
- 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.
- Way of stepping.
- 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.
- Any of various gaits of a horse, specifically a 2-beat, lateral gait. from 15th century
- Speed or velocity in general. from 15th century
- (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
- 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.
Derived terms
Verb
- Walk to and fro in a small space.
- 1874, Marcus Clarke, For the Term of His Natural Life Chapter VGroups of men, in all imaginable attitudes, were lying, standing, sitting, or pacing up and down.
- Set the speed in a race.
- Measure by walking.
Derived terms
- (set the speed in a race) pacemaker
Pronunciation
- RP IPA: /ˈpeısiË/, /ˈpÉ‘Ëtʃe/, /ˈpÉ‘Ëke/
Origin 2
Preposition
- (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.