Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “passenger” come from?

Passenger comes from Old French passagier, derived from Old French passage and Old French passer, from Latin passare, based on Latin passus meaning "step" or "pace," ultimately from Latin patior meaning "to suffer" or "to endure."

passenger (English): One who rides or travels in a vehicle, but who...

Definitions

  1. One who rides or travels in a vehicle, but who...

Ancestry of “passenger”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchpassagier—
2Old Frenchpassagepassage
3Old Frenchpasserto pass; to pass by
4Vulgar Latinpassareto walk, pass; step, walk, pass; present active...
5Latinpassusspread out; dried; step
6LatinpatiorI suffer, endure; I allow, acquiesce, permit,...
7Proto-Indo-Europeanpeh₁-to hate, hurt

Words derived from “passenger”

  • nonpassenger
  • passengerless
  • pasindia
Every word from Proto-Indo-European peh₁- →