*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of pass

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *peth₂-der. Proto-Italic *pattus Latin passus Proto-Italic *-āzi ▲ Latin -ereinflu. Latin -āre Vulgar Latin *passāre Old French passerbor. Middle English passen English pass From Middle

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 3 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
verb

To move or be moved from one place to another. · To go past, by, over, or through; to proceed from one side to the other of; to move past. · To cause to move or go; to send; to transfer from one person, place, or condition to another. · To eliminate (something) from the body by natural processes.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *peth₂-der. Proto-Italic *pattus Latin passus Proto-Italic *-āzi ▲ Latin -ereinflu. Latin -āre Vulgar Latin *passāre Old French passerbor. Middle English passen English pass From Middle English passen, from Old French passer (“to step, walk, pass”), from Vulgar Latin *passāre (“step, walk, pass”), derived from Latin passus (“a step”), from Proto-Italic *pat-s-tus, from Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- (“to spread, stretch out”). Cognate with Old English fæþm (“armful, fathom”). More at fathom. Displaced native Old English genġan.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

This page abbreviates 36 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    },
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      "name": "cog",
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        "1": "ang",
        "2": "fæþm",
        "3": "",
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    },
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      "name": "ncog",
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    ],
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      "passus",
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    ],
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      "passer",
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      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/peth₂-"
    ],
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      "fæþm",
      "fæþm#Old_English"
    ],
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      "fathom",
      "fathom#English"
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      "gengan#Old_English"
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        "To move or be moved from one place to another.",
        "To go past, by, over, or through; to proceed from one side to the other of; to move past.",
        "To cause to move or go; to send; to transfer from one person, place, or condition to another.",
        "To eliminate (something) from the body by natural processes."
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

An opening, road, or track, available for passing; especially, one through or over some dangerous or otherwise impracticable barrier such as a mountain range; a passageway; a defile; a ford. · A channel connecting a river or body of water to the sea, for example at the mouth (delta) of a river. · A single movement, especially of a hand, at, over, or along anything. · A single passage of a tool over something, or of something over a tool.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English pas, pase, pace, from passen (“to pass”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionpasenm

This page abbreviates 16 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "pase",
      "pase#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "pace#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "passen#Middle_English"
    ]
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  "references": [],
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    {
      "lang": "Tibetan",
      "lang_code": "bo",
      "word": "སྤ་སེ",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "roman": "spa se"
    }
  ],
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        "An opening, road, or track, available for passing; especially, one through or over some dangerous or otherwise impracticable barrier such as a mountain range; a passageway; a defile; a ford.",
        "A channel connecting a river or body of water to the sea, for example at the mouth (delta) of a river.",
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        "A single passage of a tool over something, or of something over a tool."
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
noun

A password (especially one for a restricted-access website).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Clipping of password.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for pass →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-cGFzcw