English
paste
Paste comes from Old French paste ‘dough’, from Ancient Greek παστός ‘sprinkled with salt, salted’, and ultimately from πάσσω.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπάσσωpássō‘to sprinkle’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEπαστόςpastós‘sprinkled with salt, salted’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEπαστάpastá
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEpasta
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400paste‘dough’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘dough for the making of bread or pastry’
- Englishearliest quotation 1766same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπάσσωpássō‘to sprinkle’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEπαστόςpastós‘sprinkled with salt, salted’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEπαστάpastá
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEpasta
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400paste‘dough’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘dough for the making of bread or pastry’
- Englishearliest quotation 1766same form
Earliest quotation: 1766, Tobias George Smollett, A register of the weather: “This is likewise the market for their oil, and…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)kuh₁t-yé-ti
concussion, cashier, quash, repercussion, fracas, zouk, casco, casse, 29 more
through Ancient Greek παστά
through Late Latin pasta
through Middle English paste ‘dough for the making of bread or pastry’
Today it means
noun A soft moist mixture, in particular: One of flour, fat, or similar ingredients used in making pastry.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek πάσσω / paste