Where does “pause” come from?

Pause comes from Middle French pause, from Latin pausa, from Ancient Greek παῦσις, from Ancient Greek παύω meaning to stop or cease.

pause (English): To take a temporary rest, take a break for a...

Definitions

  1. To take a temporary rest, take a break for a...

Ancestry of “pause”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchpausepause (brief cessation)
2Latinpausaa pause, halt, stop, cessation, end
3Ancient Greekπαῦσιςstopping, ceasing
4Ancient Greek-σῐς"suffix forming nouns"
5Ancient Greek-τιςretained after dentals
6Proto-Indo-European-tisDerives abstract/action nouns from verb roots
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tis →Every word from Ancient Greek -σῐς →Every word from Ancient Greek παῦσις →