English
pause
Pause comes from Latin pausa ‘a pause, halt, stop, cessation, end’, from Ancient Greek παῦσις ‘stopping, ceasing’, and ultimately from παύω ‘stop’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπαύωpaúō‘stop’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEπαῦσιςpaûsis‘stopping, ceasing’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpausa‘a pause, halt, stop, cessation, end’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600pause
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1595–1596same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπαύωpaúō‘stop’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEπαῦσιςpaûsis‘stopping, ceasing’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpausa‘a pause, halt, stop, cessation, end’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600pause
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1595–1596same form
Earliest quotation: c. 1595–1596, William Shakespeare, A Midsommer Nights Dreame: “Take time to pause.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *peh₂w- ‘few, little’
few, poor, fewer, puppy, pupil, puppet, pediatrics, filly, pedagogy, pave, orthopedics, puerile, pupa, paucity, 29 more
through Ancient Greek παύω ‘stop’
through Ancient Greek παῦσις ‘stopping, ceasing’
through Latin pausa ‘a pause, halt, stop, cessation, end’
Today it means
verb To take a temporary rest, take a break for a short period after an effort.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek παύω / pause