passage

¹

[pas-ij]

noun

1. a portion or section of a written work; a paragraph, verse, etc..

   a passage of Scripture.

2. a phrase or other division of a musical work.

3. Fine Arts.,  an area, section, or detail of a work, especially with respect to its qualities of execution.

   passages of sensitive brushwork.

4. an act or instance of passing from one place, condition, etc., to another; transit.

5. the permission, right, or freedom to pass.

   to refuse passage through a territory.

6. the route or course by which a person or thing passes or travels.

7. a hall or corridor; passageway.

8. an opening or entrance into, through, or out of something.

   the nasal passages.

9. a voyage by water from one point to another.

   a rough passage across the English Channel.

10. the privilege of conveyance as a passenger.

    to book passage on an ocean liner.

11. the price charged for accommodation on a ship; fare.

12. a lapse or passing, as of time.

13. a progress or course, as of events.

14. the enactment into law of a legislative measure.

15. an interchange of communications, confidences, etc., between persons.

16. an exchange of blows; altercation or dispute.

    a passage at arms.

17. the act of causing something to pass; transference; transmission.

18. an evacuation of the bowels.

19. an occurrence, incident, or event.

verb (used without object)

passaged, passaging 

1. to make a passage; cross; pass; voyage.

passage

²

[pas-ij, puh-sahzh]

noun

1. a slow, cadenced trot executed with great elevation of the feet and characterized by a moment of suspension before the feet strike the ground.

verb (used without object)

passaged, passaging 

1. (of a horse) to execute such a movement.

2. (of a rider) to cause a horse to execute such a movement.

verb (used with object)

passaged, passaging 

1. to cause (a horse) to passage.

passage

¹

/ ˈpæsɪdʒ /

noun

1. a channel, opening, etc, through or by which a person or thing may pass

2. music a section or division of a piece, movement, etc

3. a way, as in a hall or lobby

4. a section of a written work, speech, etc, esp one of moderate length

5. a journey, esp by ship

   the outward passage took a week

6. the act or process of passing from one place, condition, etc, to another

   passage of a gas through a liquid

7. the permission, right, or freedom to pass

   to be denied passage through a country

8. the enactment of a law or resolution by a legislative or deliberative body

9. an evacuation of the bowels

10. rare,  an exchange or interchange, as of blows, words, etc (esp in the phrase passage of arms )

passage

²

/ ˈpæsɑːʒ, ˈpæsɪdʒ /

noun

1. a sideways walk in which diagonal pairs of feet are lifted alternately

2. a cadenced lofty trot, the moment of suspension being clearly defined

verb

1. to move or cause to move at a passage

Word History and Origins

Origin of passage¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Old French, equivalent to pass(er) “to cross, go through” + -age noun suffix; pass, -age

Origin of passage²

First recorded in 1750–60; from French verb passager, variant of passéger, from Italian passeggiare “to walk, stroll”; pace ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of passage¹

C13: from Old French from passer to _pass

Origin of passage²

C18: from French passager, variant of passéger, from Italian passeggiare to take steps, ultimately from Latin passūs step, _pace ¹

Example Sentences

More than 40 marks were painted inside the passage and tomb, including fingerprints, handprints, diamond shapes and circles, and large symbols on the internal lintels.

From BBC

Back on our Zoom call, I ask Mosley whether he was thinking of Raymond Chandler’s seminal 1944 essay “The Simple Art of Murder” and the oft-quoted line “Down these mean streets…” when writing that passage.

From Los Angeles Times

Firstly, Kassem said, the look of the body's face, skin colour and hair still resembled Sadr's, despite the passage of time.

From BBC

Despite President Reagan’s famous statement that Latinos were Republicans who didn’t know it yet, they rejected the GOP in California and beyond for a generation after the passage of Proposition 187 in 1994.

From Los Angeles Times

I was reminded of a passage of a book I recently scored on eBay while consumed in my twice-yearly Madonna rabbit hole, “Madonna’s Drowned Worlds: New Approaches to her Cultural Transformations.”

From Salon

Related Words

• clause 
• paragraph 
• portion 
• quotation 
• reading 
• section 
• sentence 
• text 
• transition 
• verse