Where does “pause” come from?
pause (French) comes from Middle French pause, from Latin pausa, from Ancient Greek παῦσις, from Ancient Greek -σῐς, from Ancient Greek -τις, from Proto-Indo-European -tis — Derives abstract/action nouns from verb roots.
pause (French): pause, break; rest
Definitions
- pause, break; rest
Ancestry of “pause”, step by step
pause traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle French pause
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle French | pause | pause (brief cessation) |
| 2 | Latin | pausa | a pause, halt, stop, cessation, end |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | παῦσις | stopping, ceasing |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | -σῐς | "suffix forming nouns" |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | -τις | retained after dentals |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -tis | Derives abstract/action nouns from verb roots |
via Italian pausa
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italian | pausa | pause, break, stop, interval; rest |