pathn.¹

Brit.

/pɑːθ/,

/paθ/, U.S.

/pæθ/ (in sense 2)Brit.

/pɛθ/, U.S.

/pɛθ/

Forms: early Old English paat, early Old English paed, early Old English paeð, Old English pad (in a late copy), Old English pæþ, Old English pæð, Old English poþ (in compounds, in a late copy), Old English–early Middle English pað, Old English (rare)–early Middle English peð, Old English–Middle English paþ, Old English–Middle English peþ, late Old English poð (in compounds), late Old English– path, early Middle English pædes (plural, probably transmission error), Middle English paaþ, Middle English paath, Middle English paþe, Middle English paththe, Middle English paþþe, Middle English payþe, Middle English payth, Middle English–1500s patth, Middle English–1500s patthe, Middle English–1600s pathe; Scottish pre-1700 paithe, pre-1700 peathe, pre-1700 peith, pre-1700 pethe, pre-1700 pethth, pre-1700 1700s peath, pre-1700 1700s– path, pre-1700 1700s– peth, pre-1700 1800s– paith.

Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.

Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian path (West Frisian paad, East Frisian (Saterland) pad, East Frisian (Wangeroog) path), Middle Dutch pad, pat (Dutch pad), Middle Low German pāt, pat, Old High German phad, pfad (Middle High German phat, German Pfad); further etymology uncertain, perhaps borrowed early < an Iranian language (see note below).The word is apparently restricted to West Germanic; there is no evidence in Gothic or the early Scandinavian languages (but perhaps compare Finnish pade valley, probably < a Germanic language). The forms show that the word must have been in West Germanic before the Christian era. The form of the consonants is problematic. While the final fricative suggests the regular operation of the First Germanic Consonant Shift (Grimm's Law), the origin of the initial p- is debated: according to Grimm's Law, an underlying Indo-European p- should have shifted to f- ; alternatively, Germanic p- could derive from Indo-European *b- , the existence of which is uncertain. The most widely accepted theory sees the word as a borrowing from Iranian, in which Indo-European p- is preserved, and there is alternation between forms with -t- and forms with -θ- ; compare Avestan pantā (nominative), paθō (genitive) way, Old Persian pathi- , ultimately < the same Indo-European base as find v. (compare found v.¹). This explanation does however pose historical problems, given the limited distribution of the Germanic word. An alternative suggestion assumes a borrowing from an unattested Gaulish term ( < the same Celtic root as Old Welsh, Welsh pant valley, of unknown origin; compare sense 2a). While this model can account for the consonants, the vowel quantity is unexplained (a long vowel would be expected). H. Kuhn ( Zeitschr. Mundartforschung (1961) 28 4, 14) lists the word with a small number of West Germanic terms with unshifted initial p- , which he regards as deriving from a pre-Germanic Indo-European substratum; he regards path as being ultimately < the same Indo-European root as foot n. and int. In Old English the stem vowel typically alternates between æ and a, with the latter occurring before endings containing a back vowel, and the former occurring elsewhere (see A. Campbell Old Eng. Gram. (1959) §157); however, there is much analogical levelling. Old English forms with o as stem vowel are attested only when the word is the second element of compounds, and result from low stress (see A. Campbell Old Eng. Gram. (1959) §335). The evidence sometimes adduced for an Old English feminine by-form paþu is late and doubtful.

I. Physical uses.

a. A way or track formed by the continued treading of pedestrians or animals, rather than one deliberately planned and made; a narrow unmade and (usually) unenclosed way that people on foot can use. In later use also: a way specifically made for people on foot, as in a park or alongside a road.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, passage, or means of access to a place > [noun]

patheOE

gangOE

gangwayOE

passagec1300

wenta1325

goingc1350

transit1440

way-wenta1450

accessa1460

traduct1535

conveyance1542

ancoming1589

passado1599

avenue1600

passageway?1606

pass1608

way-ganga1628

approach1633

duct1670

waygate?c1690

way-goa1694

vent1715

archway1802

passway1825

approach road1833

fairway1903

society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > track, trail, or path > [noun]

styc725

patheOE

stighta1340

trod-gatea1400

tread14..

pathwaya1450

terry1563

trod1570

trade way1589

track1643

trod-way1660

drifta1711

roadie1768

loke1787

trace1807

trail1807

trackway1818

mud pike1851

dirt track1902

eOE Royal Charter: Wihtred of Kent to St. Mary's Church, Lyminge (Sawyer 19) in H. Sweet Oldest Eng. Texts (1885) 428 Terminos, id est, bereueg et meguines paed et stretleg.

OE Antwerp Gloss. (1955) 140 Semita, manna pað. Callis, deora pað.

OE Homily: De Temporibus Anticristi (Corpus Cambr. 419) in A. S. Napier Wulfstan (1883) 192 Snaca on wege and næddre on pæðe.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) 562 Leode nere þar nane..buten westiȝe pædes [c1300 Otho paþes].

c1350 Nominale (Cambr. Ee.4.20) in Trans. Philol. Soc. (1906) 12* (MED) Sylden waxus gres in the path.

a1450 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Lamb.) (1887) i. 8432 Of þe Walsche he tok to companies, Paþes to waite, & stretes, & styes.

a1500 tr. Lady Prioress in J. O. Halliwell Select. Minor Poems J. Lydgate (1840) 114 (MED) He thought yt was a longe waye to the pathes end.

1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. i. sig. A4^v That path they take, that beaten seemd most bare.

1637 J. Milton Comus 2 Their way Lies through the perplex't paths of this dreare wood.

1644 in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 (1998) 142 Then this deponent went out of the Path and tooke a Pochery tree between this deponent and him to see what he was a doeing.

1751 T. Gray Elegy xxix. 11 Slow thro' the church-way path we saw him born.

1791 A. Radcliffe Romance of Forest I. ii. 65 Paths can't be made without feet.

1837 E. Bulwer-Lytton Ernest Maltravers I. i. i. 10 There is no path across it that I can discern.

1908 E. F. Benson Climber 45 Lucia was in the garden, walking up and down the gravel path.

1947 M. Lowry Under Volcano i. 15 Narrow grass paths, trodden by cactus farmers coming home from work.

2001 A. O'Hare Green Eyes ix. 116 If this is a path, it was made by the wee people or, more than likely, rabbits.

b. A specially laid track for runners or other sportspeople. rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > [noun] > course or track

coursec1320

race1612

piste1696

route1771

track1836

path1883

athletics track1952

parcours1971

1883 Harper's Mag. Nov. 907/2 St. Paul's School..has..a quarter-mile cinder path.

1901 Oxf. Mag. 24 Apr. 291/1 The path [for foot-racing]..after the recent frosts was loose and crumbling.

1995 Daily Mail Ski Mag. Feb.–Mar. 88 Oslo boasts the 1952 Olympic natural luge run. It's a 1500m floodlit path down a hill, not some namby-pamby iced track.

c. A flat circular track on which the wheels or rollers of a mounted gun or a machine travel, e.g. when changing azimuth. rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > [noun] > path or track for machine

race1819

path1888

1888 Daily News 16 July 3/1 The turret paths of the Inflexible... These paths—that is, the circular planes on which the rollers for the revolving of the turrets travel—are of cast iron.

1913 N.E.D. at Track sb. An iron path or pair of rails which a carriage in a machine or a gun-chassis traverses.

2. Chiefly English regional (northern) and Scottish. In later use usually in form peth.

†a. A valley. Obsolete. rare.Only in Old English (Northumbrian).

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > land > landscape > low land > hollow or depression > [noun]

pathOE

slackc1400

navela1425

trough1513

nook1555

falling1565

swale1584

hella1653

depression1665

holl1701

sag1727

dip1783

recession1799

holler1845

sike1859

sitch1888

sulcus1901

OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Luke iii. 5 Omnis uallis implebitur : eghuelc pæð uel dene [OE West Saxon Gospels: Corpus Cambr. denu] gefylled bið.

OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Luke xvi. 26 Inter uos et nos chaos magnum firmatum est : bituih iuih & usih dene uel pæð [OE West Saxon Gospels: Corpus Cambr. dwolma] micel gefæstnad is.

b. A steep path or road.Frequently in the names of places and streets.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > [noun] > steep

path1487

society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, passage, or means of access to a place > [noun] > upwards > steep

path1487

pull1766

1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) xviii. 366 Ane craggy bra..And a gret peth wp for to gang.

1496 in T. Dickson Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1877) I. 297 To draw the gunnis in peththis and myris.

1528 in R. K. Hannay Acts Lords of Council Public Affairs (1932) 289 And that thai mete the said abbot..at the uvir pethis of Colbrandspeth apoun Monunday nixtocum.

1627 Rep. Parishes Scotl. (1835) 102 Auldhamstokis, fortie fywe landis and ane corne mylne quhairof sume lyis benethe the peithis and sume abowe the peithis.

1723 W. McFarlane Geogr. Coll. Scotl. (1906) I. 127 The Peth of Drone which peth is a highway through that chain of hills.

1770 Session Papers in Sc. National Dict. (1968) VII. s.v. Peth, The old roads..were full of wet holes, steep ascents and descents, paths and short turns.

1856 G. Henderson Pop. Rhymes Berwick 165 And ere he got far down the peth, The storm was like to stop his breath.

1881 J. S. Neish Byways 158 Doon the Paith he ran as if there were a hunder at his tail.

1924 Kelso Chron. 8 Feb. He [sc. a dog] got over dyke and hedge and was immediately weerin' the runaway sheep in the ‘Peth’.

1999 Northern Echo (Nexis) 12 July 8 The short stretch of road between the Magdalene Steps and Elvet Bridge was historically called Souter Peth - the steep road (peth) of the shoemakers.

c. A stretch of road in a hollow or deep cutting.Only in place names.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > [noun] > cut through a wood or rock

trenchc1405

holleway?a1500

path1548

cut1730

hollow-way1765

score1790

shute1879

1548 W. Patten Exped. Scotl. B ij We marched an viii. mile til we came to a place called y^e Peaths [i.e. Cockburnspath]. It is a valey..a xx. skore [yards] brode from banke to banke aboue... So stepe be these bankes on eyther syde and depe to the bottom [etc.].

1855 Notes & Queries 12 74 A fatal accident had occurred to a person ‘going down the peth’, a hollow wooded part of the road [near Durham].

1904 J. T. Fowler Let. in N.E.D. (at cited word) Two of the main roads leading into and out of Durham are in cuttings through hills and are called respectively ‘Crossgate Peth’, or ‘The Peth’,..and ‘Shincliffe Peth’.

a. Physiology. A neural pathway (pathway n. 1b).

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > biology > biological processes > action of nervous system > [noun] > nerve-path

nerve path1867

brain path1877

nerve route1879

path1881

pathway1885

1881 A. L. Ranney Appl. Anat. Nerv. Syst. iii. 299 It is as certainly proved that the motor impulses travel along the anterior half of the spinal cord, while the path of sensory impressions is intimately associated with the posterior half.

1902 H. E. Santee Anat. Brain & Spinal Cord (ed. 2) x. 190 The sensory paths conduct two varieties of impulse.

1942 F. A. Mettler Neuroanat. x. 201 There are thus two paths for delicate tactile sensations: a long, crossed path and an uncrossed one.

1950 Physiol. Rev. 30 461 An extrapyramidal path..appears to diverge from the cortico-spinal tract in the pons.

1990 Brain 113 531 The neuronal pathway involved could be the same. The first and principal one is the striato-pallido-thalamo-cortical loop and cortico spinal path.

b. A vessel or duct in the body. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > vascular system > [noun] > vessel

waya1382

vessel1398

vas1578

watercourse1615

aqueduct1712

path1904

1904 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 10 Sept. 585 It is doubtful if the cells leave the tissues by any other channels than the lymph paths.

c. Biochemistry. A metabolic pathway (pathway n. 2a).

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > biology > biological processes > metabolism > [noun] > pathway

pathway1905

path1909

hexose monophosphate shunt1953

pentose cycle1956

pentose shunt1957

pentose phosphate cycle1958

pentose phosphate pathway1958

pentose phosphate shunt1964

1909 A. E. Garrod Inborn Errors Metabolism i. 7 This conception of the permanency of the metabolic paths is no new one.

1927 M. Bodansky Introd. Physiol. Chem. xi. 270 The possible paths of metabolism of this amino acid are the following.

1977 Jrnl. Toxicol. & Environmental Health 3 139 Norgestrel follows metabolic paths similar to those of norethindrone.

1994 Amer. Jrnl. Human Genetics 55 1019 That this result is obtained in primarily normotensive, nonobese families, suggests the connection involves normal metabolic paths.

II. Extended and abstract uses.

4. A course of action; a way of proceeding; a mode of behaviour or conduct; esp. a way of life leading to a spiritual goal. Also: a sequence of events or operations; the course of a person's life; (occasionally) a line of thought, argument, etc.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > behaviour > [noun] > (a) course of conduct or action

wayeOE

pathOE

waya1225

tracea1300

line13..

dancea1352

tenor1398

featc1420

faction1447

rink?a1500

footpath1535

trade1536

vein1549

tract1575

course1582

road1600

country dance1613

track1638

steeragea1641

rhumb1666

tack1675

conduct1706

walk1755

wheel-way1829

OE King Ælfred tr. Psalms (Paris) (2001) xxiv. 3 Gedo me þine wegas cuðe, and lær me þine paðas.

OE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Tiber. B.iv) anno 1067 Heo sceolde..þone kyng gerihtan of þam dweliandan pæðe.

a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 131 (MED) Godes paðes ben ure gode dedes..þe us shule leden to eche liue.

a1300 (?c1175) Poema Morale (McClean) 311 in Anglia (1907) 30 236 (MED) Go we alle in þilke paþ, & he us wule bringe..biuore þe heuenkinge.

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1965) Psalms xliii. 19 Oure herte wente nott awei bacward, & þou boowedist doun oure paþes fro þi weie.

c1450 (?c1408) J. Lydgate Reson & Sensuallyte (1901) 2213 I shal folwen and pursywe Your pathis pleynly and doctryne.

c1484 (a1475) J. de Caritate tr. Secreta Secret. (Takamiya) (1977) 122 (MED) God conferme and make þe strong..in þe path of trewth.

1539 Bible (Great) Psalms xvi. 11 Thou shalt shewe me y^e path of lyfe.

1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 97 The paithis of the Iust, God dois direct.

1642 T. Fuller Holy State iv. xix. 340 Seldome two successive Kings tread in the same path.

1682 Sir T. Browne Christian Morals i. 1 Tread softly and circumspectly in this..narrow Path of Goodness.

1751 T. Gray Elegy ix. 7 The paths of glory lead but to the grave.

1781 W. Cowper Truth 301 The path to bliss abounds with many a snare.

1881 B. Jowett tr. Thucydides Hist. Peloponnesian War I. 29 The true path of expediency is the path of right.

1918 M. A. Lowndes Out of the War? vi. 91 The odd-tempered and queer-natured naval officer whom Fate had flung across her path.

1996 Independent 20 Aug. i. 12/8 He was non-judgmental, encouraging each individual to find his or her path.

a. The course along which a person or thing moves or passes; an imaginary line representing this.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > [noun] > course or direction of movement

runeeOE

runningOE

pathOE

wayOE

tracea1300

coursec1380

racec1390

recourse?c1425

situation1517

journey?a1560

track1565

roadway1600

career?1614

direction1665

by-run1674

sensea1679

meith1726

heading1841

OE Exodus 488 Wlance ðeode ne mihton forhabban helpendra pað, merestreames mod.

a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Psalms viii. 9 The fischis of the see; that passen bi the pathis of the see.

a1450 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Lamb.) (1887) i. 12100 Hys folk was ioiful & gl[a]dly let, ffor þeire pathe fare to Bareflet.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms lxxvi[i]. 19 Thy waye was in the see, and thy pathes in the greate waters.

a1618 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Diuine Weekes & Wks. (1621) i. iv. 81 If all these Lights still in one path should prance.

1680 J. Flamsteed Doctr. Sphere i. iii. 6 Every..Point on the Globe..describes a Circle about its Axis, which I call the Path of the Vertex.

1795 C. Hutton Math. & Philos. Dict. II. 603 Trajectory, a term often used generally for the path of any body moving either in a void, or in a medium that resists its motion.

1805 R. Southey Madoc ii. xiv. 305 The populace..follow to the palace in his path.

1879 R. S. Ball Mech. 138 The curved path in which the ball will move.

1991 Jrnl.-Reg. (Medina, N.Y.) 25 Feb. 5/1 She was westbound on Center Street when Moriarty crossed in front of her path.

b. Mathematics. A continuous mapping of a real interval into a space; a single continuous unbranched series of nodes and lines in a graph.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > arithmetic or algebraic operations > transformation > [noun] > correspondence > into or from a space

path1912

vector field1922

scalar field1932

net1939

1912 Ann. Math. 14 88 Whenever there is an edge by which this path approaches a vertex, since the number of 1-edges at this vertex is even, there is a 1-edge by which the path can go away.

1939 M. H. A. Newman Elem. Topol. Plane Sets of Points vi. 143 Paths and loops are not merely sets of points.

1992 J. G. Oxley Matroid Theory i. 11 Let P_i be the path from u to v in G whose edge set is C_i−e.

6. Railways. A place or gap in a timetable allotted or available to an individual train over a given route. Also train path.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > rail travel > [noun] > operation of railways > schedule of individual train

path1961

1961 Guardian 28 Apr. 30/4 The code..will indicate the class of train..and the number of its ‘path’ on operational timing.

1971 D. J. Smith Discovering Railwayana x. 60 Train path, vacant line in the timetable which may be used by an extra train.

1986 Railway Mag. Sept. 561/1 BR..has to provide the crews as well the paths.

2003 This is Local London (Nexis) 26 Feb. The railway link to London has no spare train paths.

7. Computing. A location or route as specified by a pathname; a pathname.

ΚΠ

1973 S. D. Crocker Request for Comments (Network Working Group) (Electronic text) No. 33. 4 The link number identifies over which of 256 logical paths (links) between the sending host and the receiving host the message will be sent.

1983 8th Conf. Local Computer Networks 83 The NAR table, a sort of routing table designed for addressing, reveals the relations between the naming neighbour (adjacent in a naming path) and physical neighbours (in same address space).

1994 What PC? Oct. 21/2 As with previous versions, you can set up simple aliases for directories, so you can access files without having to type in long paths.

Compounds

C1.

path-side n.

ΚΠ

1597 J. Gerard Herball ii. 476 A Wilde creeping Pinke, which groweth..by the path side as you go from Redriffe to Greenewich.

1797 M. Robinson Walsingham I. xi. 171 I..lay down by the path-side.

1853 H. D. Thoreau in Putnam's Monthly Mag. Mar. 324/1 A little one-story chapel-like building..close to the path-side.

1990 I. M. Banks Use of Weapons (1991) ii. 205 The field and woods, the path sides and river banks were full of unnameable flowers of every colour.

† path-deep adj. Obsolete rare

ΚΠ

1816 L. Hunt Story of Rimini ii. 7 The sides, path-deep, are crowded round about.

C2.

path-breaker n. [compare German Bahnbrecher trail-blazer (late 18th cent.)] a person who or thing which opens up a path (literal and figurative), esp. a way for others to follow in a particular subject or field; a trailblazer, a pioneer.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > prosperity > advancement or progress > [noun] > pioneering or breaking new ground > a pioneer

pioneer1605

outstarter1738

advance guard1759

path-breaker1843

pathfinder1847

torch-bearer1847

path-hewer1879

pacesetter1895

pacemaker1905

trail-blazer1908

style-setter1959

1843 Knickerbocker 21 333 A new set of path-breakers arrived in sight.

1905 Daily Chron. 15 Nov. 4/3 A gentle path-breaker in her chosen..field of the delineation of child life and child millinery.

2002 Austral. Financial Rev. (Nexis) 30 Sept. 63 Australia would be a path-breaker if it did move to eliminate the bond market.

path-breaking adj. [compare German bahnbrechend trail-blazing (mid 19th cent.)] pioneering in some subject.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > prosperity > advancement or progress > [noun] > pioneering or breaking new ground

pioneership1834

path-breaking1886

pace-setting1893

trail-breaking1912

1886 Atlantic Monthly Nov. 650/1 This path-breaking idea first found expression in Congress.

1914 R. M. Jones Spiritual Reformers 16th & 17th Cent. iv. 46 A man of heroic spirit and a path-breaking genius.

2002 India Today Internat. (U.K. Special ed.) 23 Sept. 42/3 The path-breaking work of Indian artists of the 15th and 16th centuries.

† path-cleaver n. Obsolete rare = path-breaker n.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > aspects of travel > traveller > [noun] > explorer or discoverer

finder1405

explorer1577

Columbus1593

pioneera1817

explorator1836

pathfinder1840

path-cleaver1896

trail-blazer1908

trail-hound1931

1896 Godey's Mag. Apr. 360/1 The indefatigable path-cleaver who crossed mountains even the Indians believed impassable.

path difference n. Physics a difference in path length.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > physics > science of sound > sound-waves > [noun] > path followed by

path difference1900

path length1900

the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > light > emission of light, radiation > [noun] > optical path > calculation of

path difference1900

ray tracing1918

ray trace1942

1900 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) A. 193 349 V is the visibility-function, in terms of u, the path-difference.

1929 J. K. Robertson Introd. Physical Optics ix. 186 If the thickness of the film gradually increases, the path difference between..pairs of interfering rays will do so also.

1962 A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio i. 28 (caption) The effective path difference (i.e. the extra distance travelled by the [sound] wave to reach the back of the ribbon 1) is equivalent to the distance D round the magnet pole-piece 2.

1988 D. J. Tritton Physical Fluid Dynamics (BNC) (ed. 2) 428 Whether this interference is constructive or destructive depends on the optical path difference.

path-energy n. Physics rare the part of the kinetic energy of a body resulting from its linear (as opposed to angular) motion.

ΚΠ

1912 F. Soddy Matter & Energy v. 126 There must be continual readjustments..between the path-energy, spin-energy, and wobble-energy.

† pathfarer n. [perhaps after wayfarer n.] Obsolete rare a person who travels along a path.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > aspects of travel > traveller > [noun] > by road

wayferendeOE

wayfaring manOE

way-goera1382

wayferer1388

dustyfoota1400

wayfarerc1430

thorough-farer1628

roadster1834

road-farer1845

pathfarer1880

roadman1906

1880 G. Meredith Tragic Comedians I. vi. 129 One who knew how to outstrip pathfarers.

† path-fly n. Obsolete a kind of fly or other flying insect (not identified), said to breed on paths.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Diptera or flies > [noun] > member of > unspecified

path-fly1634

toddy fly1681

dog-bee1838

1634 T. T. de Mayerne et al. Moffett's Insectorum Theatrum (new ed.) i. xii. 75 In semitis..invenitur..unde ab Anglis vocatur The gray path flye.

1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. Path-fly, the name given by us to the fly called in Latin humisuga; it is found in foot-paths, and supposed to live by sucking the ground.

path-heat n. Physics rare = path-energy n.

ΚΠ

1899 N. Lockyer in Nature 20 Apr. 585/2 To get concrete images of these effects we spoke of path-heat, spin-heat, and wobble-heat.

1912 F. Soddy Matter & Energy v. 125 A colloquial way of describing these various kinds of heat energy is by the terms path-heat, spin-heat, and wobble-heat.

path-hewer n. rare = path-breaker n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > prosperity > advancement or progress > [noun] > pioneering or breaking new ground > a pioneer

pioneer1605

outstarter1738

advance guard1759

path-breaker1843

pathfinder1847

torch-bearer1847

path-hewer1879

pacesetter1895

pacemaker1905

trail-blazer1908

style-setter1959

1879 J. Tyndall Fragm. Sci. (ed. 6) II. xiv. 342 Two great Path-hewers, as the Germans call them.

1907 C. Snyder World Machine p. v Geometer and traveller, physiologist and polyhistor, path-hewer and sage.

path length n. Physics the length of the path followed by a light ray, sound wave, etc., in travelling between one point and another (in the case of light usually after allowing for the retarding effect of the medium: cf. optical path n. (a) at optical adj. and n. Compounds).

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > physics > science of sound > sound-waves > [noun] > path followed by

path difference1900

path length1900

the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > light > emission of light, radiation > [noun] > optical path

optical path1893

optical length1894

path length1900

Rayleigh limit1922

eikonal1923

1900 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) A. 193 354 Other sets of molecules with other velocities and path-lengths will give other sets of lines.

1956 Nature 10 Mar. 469/1 An important omission..is mention of the practical difficulty of measuring path-lengths sufficiently accurately in testing insitu concrete structures by the pulse velocity method.

1994 New Scientist 10 Dec. 20/3 This is possible with a set of servo-controlled mirrors acting as an ‘optical delay line’, evening up the path lengths.

path master n. North American historical a public official in charge of supervising local road construction and repair.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > builder > [noun] > builders or maintainers of roads

waymaker?c1475

roadman1788

road-maker1792

path master1799

roadsman?1807

Macadamite1821

macadamizer1824

road breaker1834

grader1870

asphalter1880

linesman1888

lengthman1902

highway patrol1909

1799 Upper Canada Gaz. (York) 29 June 3/2 The public are much indebted to Mr. John McDougal, who was appointed one of the path-masters.., for his great assiduity and care in getting the streets cleared of the many and dangerous..constructions therein.

1869 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Agric. 1868 348 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (40th Congr., 3rd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc.) XV The immediate supervision of construction and repairs is generally under the direction of local ‘road supervisors’, or ‘path masters’.

1968 E. S. Russenholt Heart of Continent iv. xi. 206 The Department of Agriculture orders that pathmasters cut weedy grain, and have the work charged to landowners.

pathname n. Computing a description of where a file or other item is to be found in a hierarchy of directories, servers, or other storage locations.

ΚΠ

1970 E. W. Meyer Request for Comments (Network Working Group) (Electronic text) No. 82 Files are organized hierarchically and will fill out as years go by. Documents are referenced by pathnames.

1995 UNIX for Dummies (ed. 2) 55 To tell UNIX which file you want to use, you type its pathname.

1999 C. Brookmyre One Fine Day in Middle of Night (2000) 190 Matt had freeze-framed on the landing in mid-step.., explanations whizzing through his head like path-names on a computer search-routine.

path-racer n. a bicycle made for racing on a prepared path or track.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicle propelled by feet > [noun] > cycle > bicycle > other types of bicycle

forty-four1821

roadster1875

rear-steerer1882

pneumatic1890

path-racer1896

featherweight1901

free-wheeler1908

fairy cycle1920

superbike1935

sit-up-and-beg1939

bakfiets1956

high-riser1965

all-terrain cycle1970

chopper1971

mountain bike1972

shopper1973

mixte1975

BMX1978

cruiser1978

ojek1983

boda boda1995

e-bike1998

fixie2001

ghost bike2004

1896 Westm. Gaz. 21 Nov. 7/2 His prettiest machine being a fine path-racer.

2000 J. Hoff & M. Yeates Cooper's Wife is Missing viii. 383 Con Brennan left Cork city on his bicycle, a twenty-pound Raleigh path-racer.

path-racing n. bicycle racing on a prepared path or track.

ΚΠ

1908 Daily Chron. 30 Sept. 6/4 The path-racing season was practically ended by a most successful meeting at Herne Hill, when..two record trials were successfully made.

1997 Roanoke Times & World News (Nexis) 1 Sept. c1 Virginia's gradual move from path-racing sprints to course-racing distance contests.

path-walker n. a person who walks along a path or paths; spec. one employed to check and maintain a towpath.

ΚΠ

1887 Cent. Mag. Sept. 704/1 The path-walker is..plugging the smallest holes with sod.

1995 Poetics Today 16 218 Each path has had a long history, many branching pathways, countless maps and guides, and numerous outstanding path-walkers.

pathworking n. a technique of guided meditation (frequently using tarot cards or the Kabbalah).

ΚΠ

1983 D. Ashcroft-Nowicki Shining Paths 12 Pathworking is a fairly new term for what used to be called ‘scrying in the spirit’..the ability to project the mindself into a series of situations, landscapes, and events.

2001 Kindred Spirit Summer 87/1 (advt.) Life-path and soul purpose readings, path-working skills, star journeys.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	path
释义	pathn.¹ Brit. /pɑːθ/, /paθ/, U.S. /pæθ/ (in sense 2)Brit. /pɛθ/, U.S. /pɛθ/ Forms: early Old English paat, early Old English paed, early Old English paeð, Old English pad (in a late copy), Old English pæþ, Old English pæð, Old English poþ (in compounds, in a late copy), Old English–early Middle English pað, Old English (rare)–early Middle English peð, Old English–Middle English paþ, Old English–Middle English peþ, late Old English poð (in compounds), late Old English– path, early Middle English pædes (plural, probably transmission error), Middle English paaþ, Middle English paath, Middle English paþe, Middle English paththe, Middle English paþþe, Middle English payþe, Middle English payth, Middle English–1500s patth, Middle English–1500s patthe, Middle English–1600s pathe; Scottish pre-1700 paithe, pre-1700 peathe, pre-1700 peith, pre-1700 pethe, pre-1700 pethth, pre-1700 1700s peath, pre-1700 1700s– path, pre-1700 1700s– peth, pre-1700 1800s– paith. Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian path (West Frisian paad, East Frisian (Saterland) pad, East Frisian (Wangeroog) path), Middle Dutch pad, pat (Dutch pad), Middle Low German pāt, pat, Old High German phad, pfad (Middle High German phat, German Pfad); further etymology uncertain, perhaps borrowed early < an Iranian language (see note below).The word is apparently restricted to West Germanic; there is no evidence in Gothic or the early Scandinavian languages (but perhaps compare Finnish pade valley, probably < a Germanic language). The forms show that the word must have been in West Germanic before the Christian era. The form of the consonants is problematic. While the final fricative suggests the regular operation of the First Germanic Consonant Shift (Grimm's Law), the origin of the initial p- is debated: according to Grimm's Law, an underlying Indo-European p- should have shifted to f- ; alternatively, Germanic p- could derive from Indo-European b- , the existence of which is uncertain. The most widely accepted theory sees the word as a borrowing from Iranian, in which Indo-European p- is preserved, and there is alternation between forms with -t-* and forms with -θ- ; compare Avestan pantā (nominative), paθō (genitive) way, Old Persian pathi- , ultimately < the same Indo-European base as find v. (compare found v.¹). This explanation does however pose historical problems, given the limited distribution of the Germanic word. An alternative suggestion assumes a borrowing from an unattested Gaulish term ( < the same Celtic root as Old Welsh, Welsh pant valley, of unknown origin; compare sense 2a). While this model can account for the consonants, the vowel quantity is unexplained (a long vowel would be expected). H. Kuhn ( Zeitschr. Mundartforschung (1961) 28 4, 14) lists the word with a small number of West Germanic terms with unshifted initial p- , which he regards as deriving from a pre-Germanic Indo-European substratum; he regards path as being ultimately < the same Indo-European root as foot n. and int. In Old English the stem vowel typically alternates between æ and a, with the latter occurring before endings containing a back vowel, and the former occurring elsewhere (see A. Campbell Old Eng. Gram. (1959) §157); however, there is much analogical levelling. Old English forms with o as stem vowel are attested only when the word is the second element of compounds, and result from low stress (see A. Campbell Old Eng. Gram. (1959) §335). The evidence sometimes adduced for an Old English feminine by-form paþu is late and doubtful. I. Physical uses. 1. a. A way or track formed by the continued treading of pedestrians or animals, rather than one deliberately planned and made; a narrow unmade and (usually) unenclosed way that people on foot can use. In later use also: a way specifically made for people on foot, as in a park or alongside a road. ΘΚΠ society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, passage, or means of access to a place > [noun] patheOE gangOE gangwayOE passagec1300 wenta1325 goingc1350 transit1440 way-wenta1450 accessa1460 traduct1535 conveyance1542 ancoming1589 passado1599 avenue1600 passageway?1606 pass1608 way-ganga1628 approach1633 duct1670 waygate?c1690 way-goa1694 vent1715 archway1802 passway1825 approach road1833 fairway1903 society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > track, trail, or path > [noun] styc725 patheOE stighta1340 trod-gatea1400 tread14.. pathwaya1450 terry1563 trod1570 trade way1589 track1643 trod-way1660 drifta1711 roadie1768 loke1787 trace1807 trail1807 trackway1818 mud pike1851 dirt track1902 eOE Royal Charter: Wihtred of Kent to St. Mary's Church, Lyminge (Sawyer 19) in H. Sweet Oldest Eng. Texts (1885) 428 Terminos, id est, bereueg et meguines paed et stretleg. OE Antwerp Gloss. (1955) 140 Semita, manna pað. Callis, deora pað. OE Homily: De Temporibus Anticristi (Corpus Cambr. 419) in A. S. Napier Wulfstan (1883) 192 Snaca on wege and næddre on pæðe. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) 562 Leode nere þar nane..buten westiȝe pædes [c1300 Otho paþes]. c1350 Nominale (Cambr. Ee.4.20) in Trans. Philol. Soc. (1906) 12* (MED) Sylden waxus gres in the path. a1450 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Lamb.) (1887) i. 8432 Of þe Walsche he tok to companies, Paþes to waite, & stretes, & styes. a1500 tr. Lady Prioress in J. O. Halliwell Select. Minor Poems J. Lydgate (1840) 114 (MED) He thought yt was a longe waye to the pathes end. 1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. i. sig. A4^v That path they take, that beaten seemd most bare. 1637 J. Milton Comus 2 Their way Lies through the perplex't paths of this dreare wood. 1644 in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 (1998) 142 Then this deponent went out of the Path and tooke a Pochery tree between this deponent and him to see what he was a doeing. 1751 T. Gray Elegy xxix. 11 Slow thro' the church-way path we saw him born. 1791 A. Radcliffe Romance of Forest I. ii. 65 Paths can't be made without feet. 1837 E. Bulwer-Lytton Ernest Maltravers I. i. i. 10 There is no path across it that I can discern. 1908 E. F. Benson Climber 45 Lucia was in the garden, walking up and down the gravel path. 1947 M. Lowry Under Volcano i. 15 Narrow grass paths, trodden by cactus farmers coming home from work. 2001 A. O'Hare Green Eyes ix. 116 If this is a path, it was made by the wee people or, more than likely, rabbits. b. A specially laid track for runners or other sportspeople. rare. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > [noun] > course or track coursec1320 race1612 piste1696 route1771 track1836 path1883 athletics track1952 parcours1971 1883 Harper's Mag. Nov. 907/2 St. Paul's School..has..a quarter-mile cinder path. 1901 Oxf. Mag. 24 Apr. 291/1 The path [for foot-racing]..after the recent frosts was loose and crumbling. 1995 Daily Mail Ski Mag. Feb.–Mar. 88 Oslo boasts the 1952 Olympic natural luge run. It's a 1500m floodlit path down a hill, not some namby-pamby iced track. c. A flat circular track on which the wheels or rollers of a mounted gun or a machine travel, e.g. when changing azimuth. rare. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > [noun] > path or track for machine race1819 path1888 1888 Daily News 16 July 3/1 The turret paths of the Inflexible... These paths—that is, the circular planes on which the rollers for the revolving of the turrets travel—are of cast iron. 1913 N.E.D. at Track sb. An iron path or pair of rails which a carriage in a machine or a gun-chassis traverses. 2. Chiefly English regional (northern) and Scottish. In later use usually in form peth. †a. A valley. Obsolete. rare.Only in Old English (Northumbrian). ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > land > landscape > low land > hollow or depression > [noun] pathOE slackc1400 navela1425 trough1513 nook1555 falling1565 swale1584 hella1653 depression1665 holl1701 sag1727 dip1783 recession1799 holler1845 sike1859 sitch1888 sulcus1901 OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Luke iii. 5 Omnis uallis implebitur : eghuelc pæð uel dene [OE West Saxon Gospels: Corpus Cambr. denu] gefylled bið. OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Luke xvi. 26 Inter uos et nos chaos magnum firmatum est : bituih iuih & usih dene uel pæð [OE West Saxon Gospels: Corpus Cambr. dwolma] micel gefæstnad is. b. A steep path or road.Frequently in the names of places and streets. ΘΚΠ society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > [noun] > steep path1487 society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, passage, or means of access to a place > [noun] > upwards > steep path1487 pull1766 1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) xviii. 366 Ane craggy bra..And a gret peth wp for to gang. 1496 in T. Dickson Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1877) I. 297 To draw the gunnis in peththis and myris. 1528 in R. K. Hannay Acts Lords of Council Public Affairs (1932) 289 And that thai mete the said abbot..at the uvir pethis of Colbrandspeth apoun Monunday nixtocum. 1627 Rep. Parishes Scotl. (1835) 102 Auldhamstokis, fortie fywe landis and ane corne mylne quhairof sume lyis benethe the peithis and sume abowe the peithis. 1723 W. McFarlane Geogr. Coll. Scotl. (1906) I. 127 The Peth of Drone which peth is a highway through that chain of hills. 1770 Session Papers in Sc. National Dict. (1968) VII. s.v. Peth, The old roads..were full of wet holes, steep ascents and descents, paths and short turns. 1856 G. Henderson Pop. Rhymes Berwick 165 And ere he got far down the peth, The storm was like to stop his breath. 1881 J. S. Neish Byways 158 Doon the Paith he ran as if there were a hunder at his tail. 1924 Kelso Chron. 8 Feb. He [sc. a dog] got over dyke and hedge and was immediately weerin' the runaway sheep in the ‘Peth’. 1999 Northern Echo (Nexis) 12 July 8 The short stretch of road between the Magdalene Steps and Elvet Bridge was historically called Souter Peth - the steep road (peth) of the shoemakers. c. A stretch of road in a hollow or deep cutting.Only in place names. ΘΚΠ society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > [noun] > cut through a wood or rock trenchc1405 holleway?a1500 path1548 cut1730 hollow-way1765 score1790 shute1879 1548 W. Patten Exped. Scotl. B ij We marched an viii. mile til we came to a place called y^e Peaths [i.e. Cockburnspath]. It is a valey..a xx. skore [yards] brode from banke to banke aboue... So stepe be these bankes on eyther syde and depe to the bottom [etc.]. 1855 Notes & Queries 12 74 A fatal accident had occurred to a person ‘going down the peth’, a hollow wooded part of the road [near Durham]. 1904 J. T. Fowler Let. in N.E.D. (at cited word) Two of the main roads leading into and out of Durham are in cuttings through hills and are called respectively ‘Crossgate Peth’, or ‘The Peth’,..and ‘Shincliffe Peth’. 3. a. Physiology. A neural pathway (pathway n. 1b). ΘΚΠ the world > life > biology > biological processes > action of nervous system > [noun] > nerve-path nerve path1867 brain path1877 nerve route1879 path1881 pathway1885 1881 A. L. Ranney Appl. Anat. Nerv. Syst. iii. 299 It is as certainly proved that the motor impulses travel along the anterior half of the spinal cord, while the path of sensory impressions is intimately associated with the posterior half. 1902 H. E. Santee Anat. Brain & Spinal Cord (ed. 2) x. 190 The sensory paths conduct two varieties of impulse. 1942 F. A. Mettler Neuroanat. x. 201 There are thus two paths for delicate tactile sensations: a long, crossed path and an uncrossed one. 1950 Physiol. Rev. 30 461 An extrapyramidal path..appears to diverge from the cortico-spinal tract in the pons. 1990 Brain 113 531 The neuronal pathway involved could be the same. The first and principal one is the striato-pallido-thalamo-cortical loop and cortico spinal path. b. A vessel or duct in the body. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > vascular system > [noun] > vessel waya1382 vessel1398 vas1578 watercourse1615 aqueduct1712 path1904 1904 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 10 Sept. 585 It is doubtful if the cells leave the tissues by any other channels than the lymph paths. c. Biochemistry. A metabolic pathway (pathway n. 2a). ΘΚΠ the world > life > biology > biological processes > metabolism > [noun] > pathway pathway1905 path1909 hexose monophosphate shunt1953 pentose cycle1956 pentose shunt1957 pentose phosphate cycle1958 pentose phosphate pathway1958 pentose phosphate shunt1964 1909 A. E. Garrod Inborn Errors Metabolism i. 7 This conception of the permanency of the metabolic paths is no new one. 1927 M. Bodansky Introd. Physiol. Chem. xi. 270 The possible paths of metabolism of this amino acid are the following. 1977 Jrnl. Toxicol. & Environmental Health 3 139 Norgestrel follows metabolic paths similar to those of norethindrone. 1994 Amer. Jrnl. Human Genetics 55 1019 That this result is obtained in primarily normotensive, nonobese families, suggests the connection involves normal metabolic paths. II. Extended and abstract uses. 4. A course of action; a way of proceeding; a mode of behaviour or conduct; esp. a way of life leading to a spiritual goal. Also: a sequence of events or operations; the course of a person's life; (occasionally) a line of thought, argument, etc. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > behaviour > [noun] > (a) course of conduct or action wayeOE pathOE waya1225 tracea1300 line13.. dancea1352 tenor1398 featc1420 faction1447 rink?a1500 footpath1535 trade1536 vein1549 tract1575 course1582 road1600 country dance1613 track1638 steeragea1641 rhumb1666 tack1675 conduct1706 walk1755 wheel-way1829 OE King Ælfred tr. Psalms (Paris) (2001) xxiv. 3 Gedo me þine wegas cuðe, and lær me þine paðas. OE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Tiber. B.iv) anno 1067 Heo sceolde..þone kyng gerihtan of þam dweliandan pæðe. a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 131 (MED) Godes paðes ben ure gode dedes..þe us shule leden to eche liue. a1300 (?c1175) Poema Morale (McClean) 311 in Anglia (1907) 30 236 (MED) Go we alle in þilke paþ, & he us wule bringe..biuore þe heuenkinge. a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1965) Psalms xliii. 19 Oure herte wente nott awei bacward, & þou boowedist doun oure paþes fro þi weie. c1450 (?c1408) J. Lydgate Reson & Sensuallyte (1901) 2213 I shal folwen and pursywe Your pathis pleynly and doctryne. c1484 (a1475) J. de Caritate tr. Secreta Secret. (Takamiya) (1977) 122 (MED) God conferme and make þe strong..in þe path of trewth. 1539 Bible (Great) Psalms xvi. 11 Thou shalt shewe me y^e path of lyfe. 1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 97 The paithis of the Iust, God dois direct. 1642 T. Fuller Holy State iv. xix. 340 Seldome two successive Kings tread in the same path. 1682 Sir T. Browne Christian Morals i. 1 Tread softly and circumspectly in this..narrow Path of Goodness. 1751 T. Gray Elegy ix. 7 The paths of glory lead but to the grave. 1781 W. Cowper Truth 301 The path to bliss abounds with many a snare. 1881 B. Jowett tr. Thucydides Hist. Peloponnesian War I. 29 The true path of expediency is the path of right. 1918 M. A. Lowndes Out of the War? vi. 91 The odd-tempered and queer-natured naval officer whom Fate had flung across her path. 1996 Independent 20 Aug. i. 12/8 He was non-judgmental, encouraging each individual to find his or her path. 5. a. The course along which a person or thing moves or passes; an imaginary line representing this. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > [noun] > course or direction of movement runeeOE runningOE pathOE wayOE tracea1300 coursec1380 coursec1380 racec1390 recourse?c1425 situation1517 journey?a1560 track1565 roadway1600 career?1614 direction1665 by-run1674 sensea1679 meith1726 heading1841 OE Exodus 488 Wlance ðeode ne mihton forhabban helpendra pað, merestreames mod. a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Psalms viii. 9 The fischis of the see; that passen bi the pathis of the see. a1450 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Lamb.) (1887) i. 12100 Hys folk was ioiful & gl[a]dly let, ffor þeire pathe fare to Bareflet. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms lxxvi[i]. 19 Thy waye was in the see, and thy pathes in the greate waters. a1618 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Diuine Weekes & Wks. (1621) i. iv. 81 If all these Lights still in one path should prance. 1680 J. Flamsteed Doctr. Sphere i. iii. 6 Every..Point on the Globe..describes a Circle about its Axis, which I call the Path of the Vertex. 1795 C. Hutton Math. & Philos. Dict. II. 603 Trajectory, a term often used generally for the path of any body moving either in a void, or in a medium that resists its motion. 1805 R. Southey Madoc ii. xiv. 305 The populace..follow to the palace in his path. 1879 R. S. Ball Mech. 138 The curved path in which the ball will move. 1991 Jrnl.-Reg. (Medina, N.Y.) 25 Feb. 5/1 She was westbound on Center Street when Moriarty crossed in front of her path. b. Mathematics. A continuous mapping of a real interval into a space; a single continuous unbranched series of nodes and lines in a graph. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > arithmetic or algebraic operations > transformation > [noun] > correspondence > into or from a space path1912 vector field1922 scalar field1932 net1939 1912 Ann. Math. 14 88 Whenever there is an edge by which this path approaches a vertex, since the number of 1-edges at this vertex is even, there is a 1-edge by which the path can go away. 1939 M. H. A. Newman Elem. Topol. Plane Sets of Points vi. 143 Paths and loops are not merely sets of points. 1992 J. G. Oxley Matroid Theory i. 11 Let P_i be the path from u to v in G whose edge set is C_i−e. 6. Railways. A place or gap in a timetable allotted or available to an individual train over a given route. Also train path. ΘΚΠ society > travel > rail travel > [noun] > operation of railways > schedule of individual train path1961 1961 Guardian 28 Apr. 30/4 The code..will indicate the class of train..and the number of its ‘path’ on operational timing. 1971 D. J. Smith Discovering Railwayana x. 60 Train path, vacant line in the timetable which may be used by an extra train. 1986 Railway Mag. Sept. 561/1 BR..has to provide the crews as well the paths. 2003 This is Local London (Nexis) 26 Feb. The railway link to London has no spare train paths. 7. Computing. A location or route as specified by a pathname; a pathname. ΚΠ 1973 S. D. Crocker Request for Comments (Network Working Group) (Electronic text) No. 33. 4 The link number identifies over which of 256 logical paths (links) between the sending host and the receiving host the message will be sent. 1983 8th Conf. Local Computer Networks 83 The NAR table, a sort of routing table designed for addressing, reveals the relations between the naming neighbour (adjacent in a naming path) and physical neighbours (in same address space). 1994 What PC? Oct. 21/2 As with previous versions, you can set up simple aliases for directories, so you can access files without having to type in long paths. Compounds C1. a. path-side n. ΚΠ 1597 J. Gerard Herball ii. 476 A Wilde creeping Pinke, which groweth..by the path side as you go from Redriffe to Greenewich. 1797 M. Robinson Walsingham I. xi. 171 I..lay down by the path-side. 1853 H. D. Thoreau in Putnam's Monthly Mag. Mar. 324/1 A little one-story chapel-like building..close to the path-side. 1990 I. M. Banks Use of Weapons (1991) ii. 205 The field and woods, the path sides and river banks were full of unnameable flowers of every colour. b. † path-deep adj. Obsolete rare ΚΠ 1816 L. Hunt Story of Rimini ii. 7 The sides, path-deep, are crowded round about. C2. path-breaker n. [compare German Bahnbrecher trail-blazer (late 18th cent.)] a person who or thing which opens up a path (literal and figurative), esp. a way for others to follow in a particular subject or field; a trailblazer, a pioneer. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > prosperity > advancement or progress > [noun] > pioneering or breaking new ground > a pioneer pioneer1605 outstarter1738 advance guard1759 path-breaker1843 pathfinder1847 torch-bearer1847 path-hewer1879 pacesetter1895 pacemaker1905 trail-blazer1908 style-setter1959 1843 Knickerbocker 21 333 A new set of path-breakers arrived in sight. 1905 Daily Chron. 15 Nov. 4/3 A gentle path-breaker in her chosen..field of the delineation of child life and child millinery. 2002 Austral. Financial Rev. (Nexis) 30 Sept. 63 Australia would be a path-breaker if it did move to eliminate the bond market. path-breaking adj. [compare German bahnbrechend trail-blazing (mid 19th cent.)] pioneering in some subject. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > prosperity > advancement or progress > [noun] > pioneering or breaking new ground pioneership1834 path-breaking1886 pace-setting1893 trail-breaking1912 1886 Atlantic Monthly Nov. 650/1 This path-breaking idea first found expression in Congress. 1914 R. M. Jones Spiritual Reformers 16th & 17th Cent. iv. 46 A man of heroic spirit and a path-breaking genius. 2002 India Today Internat. (U.K. Special ed.) 23 Sept. 42/3 The path-breaking work of Indian artists of the 15th and 16th centuries. † path-cleaver n. Obsolete rare = path-breaker n. ΘΚΠ society > travel > aspects of travel > traveller > [noun] > explorer or discoverer finder1405 explorer1577 Columbus1593 pioneera1817 explorator1836 pathfinder1840 path-cleaver1896 trail-blazer1908 trail-hound1931 1896 Godey's Mag. Apr. 360/1 The indefatigable path-cleaver who crossed mountains even the Indians believed impassable. path difference n. Physics a difference in path length. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > physics > science of sound > sound-waves > [noun] > path followed by path difference1900 path length1900 the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > light > emission of light, radiation > [noun] > optical path > calculation of path difference1900 ray tracing1918 ray trace1942 1900 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) A. 193 349 V is the visibility-function, in terms of u, the path-difference. 1929 J. K. Robertson Introd. Physical Optics ix. 186 If the thickness of the film gradually increases, the path difference between..pairs of interfering rays will do so also. 1962 A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio i. 28 (caption) The effective path difference (i.e. the extra distance travelled by the [sound] wave to reach the back of the ribbon 1) is equivalent to the distance D round the magnet pole-piece 2. 1988 D. J. Tritton Physical Fluid Dynamics (BNC) (ed. 2) 428 Whether this interference is constructive or destructive depends on the optical path difference. path-energy n. Physics rare the part of the kinetic energy of a body resulting from its linear (as opposed to angular) motion. ΚΠ 1912 F. Soddy Matter & Energy v. 126 There must be continual readjustments..between the path-energy, spin-energy, and wobble-energy. † pathfarer n. [perhaps after wayfarer n.] Obsolete rare a person who travels along a path. ΘΚΠ society > travel > aspects of travel > traveller > [noun] > by road wayferendeOE wayfaring manOE way-goera1382 wayferer1388 dustyfoota1400 wayfarerc1430 thorough-farer1628 roadster1834 road-farer1845 pathfarer1880 roadman1906 1880 G. Meredith Tragic Comedians I. vi. 129 One who knew how to outstrip pathfarers. † path-fly n. Obsolete a kind of fly or other flying insect (not identified), said to breed on paths. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Diptera or flies > [noun] > member of > unspecified path-fly1634 toddy fly1681 dog-bee1838 1634 T. T. de Mayerne et al. Moffett's Insectorum Theatrum (new ed.) i. xii. 75 In semitis..invenitur..unde ab Anglis vocatur The gray path flye. 1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. Path-fly, the name given by us to the fly called in Latin humisuga; it is found in foot-paths, and supposed to live by sucking the ground. path-heat n. Physics rare = path-energy n. ΚΠ 1899 N. Lockyer in Nature 20 Apr. 585/2 To get concrete images of these effects we spoke of path-heat, spin-heat, and wobble-heat. 1912 F. Soddy Matter & Energy v. 125 A colloquial way of describing these various kinds of heat energy is by the terms path-heat, spin-heat, and wobble-heat. path-hewer n. rare = path-breaker n. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > prosperity > advancement or progress > [noun] > pioneering or breaking new ground > a pioneer pioneer1605 outstarter1738 advance guard1759 path-breaker1843 pathfinder1847 torch-bearer1847 path-hewer1879 pacesetter1895 pacemaker1905 trail-blazer1908 style-setter1959 1879 J. Tyndall Fragm. Sci. (ed. 6) II. xiv. 342 Two great Path-hewers, as the Germans call them. 1907 C. Snyder World Machine p. v Geometer and traveller, physiologist and polyhistor, path-hewer and sage. path length n. Physics the length of the path followed by a light ray, sound wave, etc., in travelling between one point and another (in the case of light usually after allowing for the retarding effect of the medium: cf. optical path n. (a) at optical adj. and n. Compounds). ΘΚΠ the world > matter > physics > science of sound > sound-waves > [noun] > path followed by path difference1900 path length1900 the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > light > emission of light, radiation > [noun] > optical path optical path1893 optical length1894 path length1900 Rayleigh limit1922 eikonal1923 1900 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) A. 193 354 Other sets of molecules with other velocities and path-lengths will give other sets of lines. 1956 Nature 10 Mar. 469/1 An important omission..is mention of the practical difficulty of measuring path-lengths sufficiently accurately in testing insitu concrete structures by the pulse velocity method. 1994 New Scientist 10 Dec. 20/3 This is possible with a set of servo-controlled mirrors acting as an ‘optical delay line’, evening up the path lengths. path master n. North American historical a public official in charge of supervising local road construction and repair. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > builder > [noun] > builders or maintainers of roads waymaker?c1475 roadman1788 road-maker1792 path master1799 roadsman?1807 Macadamite1821 macadamizer1824 road breaker1834 grader1870 asphalter1880 linesman1888 lengthman1902 highway patrol1909 1799 Upper Canada Gaz. (York) 29 June 3/2 The public are much indebted to Mr. John McDougal, who was appointed one of the path-masters.., for his great assiduity and care in getting the streets cleared of the many and dangerous..constructions therein. 1869 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Agric. 1868 348 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (40th Congr., 3rd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc.) XV The immediate supervision of construction and repairs is generally under the direction of local ‘road supervisors’, or ‘path masters’. 1968 E. S. Russenholt Heart of Continent iv. xi. 206 The Department of Agriculture orders that pathmasters cut weedy grain, and have the work charged to landowners. pathname n. Computing a description of where a file or other item is to be found in a hierarchy of directories, servers, or other storage locations. ΚΠ 1970 E. W. Meyer Request for Comments (Network Working Group) (Electronic text) No. 82 Files are organized hierarchically and will fill out as years go by. Documents are referenced by pathnames. 1995 UNIX for Dummies (ed. 2) 55 To tell UNIX which file you want to use, you type its pathname. 1999 C. Brookmyre One Fine Day in Middle of Night (2000) 190 Matt had freeze-framed on the landing in mid-step.., explanations whizzing through his head like path-names on a computer search-routine. path-racer n. a bicycle made for racing on a prepared path or track. ΘΚΠ society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicle propelled by feet > [noun] > cycle > bicycle > other types of bicycle forty-four1821 roadster1875 rear-steerer1882 pneumatic1890 path-racer1896 featherweight1901 free-wheeler1908 fairy cycle1920 superbike1935 sit-up-and-beg1939 bakfiets1956 high-riser1965 all-terrain cycle1970 chopper1971 mountain bike1972 shopper1973 mixte1975 BMX1978 cruiser1978 ojek1983 boda boda1995 e-bike1998 fixie2001 ghost bike2004 1896 Westm. Gaz. 21 Nov. 7/2 His prettiest machine being a fine path-racer. 2000 J. Hoff & M. Yeates Cooper's Wife is Missing viii. 383 Con Brennan left Cork city on his bicycle, a twenty-pound Raleigh path-racer. path-racing n. bicycle racing on a prepared path or track. ΚΠ 1908 Daily Chron. 30 Sept. 6/4 The path-racing season was practically ended by a most successful meeting at Herne Hill, when..two record trials were successfully made. 1997 Roanoke Times & World News (Nexis) 1 Sept. c1 Virginia's gradual move from path-racing sprints to course-racing distance contests. path-walker n. a person who walks along a path or paths; spec. one employed to check and maintain a towpath. ΚΠ 1887 Cent. Mag. Sept. 704/1 The path-walker is..plugging the smallest holes with sod. 1995 Poetics Today 16 218 Each path has had a long history, many branching pathways, countless maps and guides, and numerous outstanding path-walkers. pathworking n. a technique of guided meditation (frequently using tarot cards or the Kabbalah). ΚΠ 1983 D. Ashcroft-Nowicki Shining Paths 12 Pathworking is a fairly new term for what used to be called ‘scrying in the spirit’..the ability to project the mindself into a series of situations, landscapes, and events. 2001 Kindred Spirit Summer 87/1 (advt.) Life-path and soul purpose readings, path-working skills, star journeys. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022). pathn.² Brit. /pɑːθ/, /paθ/, U.S. /pæθ/ Forms: 1900s– path, 1900s– path. (with point). Origin: Formed within English, by clipping or shortening. Etymon: pathology n. Etymology: Shortened < pathology n. colloquial. = pathology n. 3a. Usually attributive. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > study of disease > [noun] pathology1611 path1937 1937 ‘J. Bell’ Murder in Hosp. xii. 233 He does not appear to have had any path. tests done. 1944 ‘H. Ashton’ Yeoman's Hosp. xi. 239 I always hoped he'd land that job he wanted..in the Path. Lab. there. 1965 K. Giles Some Beasts no More v. 137 Sir Shelly diagnosed leukemia and it was confirmed by path. Prognosis was twelve months. 1978 N. Freeling Night Lords xiv. 61 You find a suicide which..is a phony. We wait for the path. report. 1997 Big Issue 29 Sept. (Student Suppl. '97) 7/3 Your putative shag will expect your idea of fun to be playing footie with a severed head down the path lab. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022). pathv. Brit. /pɑːθ/, /paθ/, U.S. /pæθ/ Forms: Old English pæþþan, Old English pæððan, Old English peððan, 1500s– path. Origin: Probably of multiple origins. Partly a word inherited from Germanic. Probably also partly formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: path n.¹ Etymology: In Old English, cognate with or formed similarly to Middle Low German pedden to tread (German regional (Low German) padden , (Low German: Bremen) pedden to tread, step repeatedly), Old High German pfadōn to go, walk (Middle High German phaden to walk on a path, German regional (Swiss) pfaden to make a path) < the Germanic base of path n.¹; compare pad v.¹ In later use probably independently < path n.¹ With sense 3 compare earlier pathed adj. Compare also pathe v. 1. transitive. To go on or along (a course, way, etc.); to traverse. Now chiefly poetic. ΘΚΠ society > travel > [verb (transitive)] > go along a way or road patheOE road1627 eOE Metres of Boethius (transcript of damaged MS) xxxi. 10 Sume fotum twam foldan peððað, sume fierfete. OE Riddle 72 12 Ic þæh on lust, oþþæt ic wæs yldra ond þæt an forlet sweartum hyrde, siþade widdor, mearcpaþas Walas træd, moras pæðde. 1577 G. Whetstone Remembraunce Gaskoigne xiv I left this vaine to path the vertuous waies. 1598 M. Drayton Englands Heroicall Epist. (new ed.) f. 57 Pathing yong Henries vnaduised wayes. 1612 M. Drayton Poly-olbion ii. 24 Where, from the neighbouring hills her passage Wey doth path. 1728 A. Ramsay Robert Richy & Sandy 32 My tup that bears the bell And paths the snaw. 1807 J. Barlow Columbiad v. 167 The dales disclose Their meadows path'd with files of savage foes. 1861 E. Atherstone Israel in Egypt xxvii. 465 Some..Headforemost leaped; with mad hope, even on foot, To path the sea-depths. 1909 M. J. Cawein Giant & Star 161 I pathed the snow from barn to house. 2000 Wasafiri Autumn 24/1 That reaper, they tell me, is death. I see a peasant pathing his way through annoying dust with his crescent tool. †2. intransitive and reflexive. To go on or as on a path; (figurative) to pursue one's course. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > move in a certain direction [verb (intransitive)] goeOE wendOE makeOE aim?a1400 to make one's waya1425 reflect1547 work1566 to make up1596 path1597 sway1600 tend1648 vergea1661 steer1693 the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > move in a certain direction [verb (reflexive)] path1597 1597 M. Drayton Englands Heroicall Epist. Notes f. 5 This riuer did so strangely path it selfe, that the foote seemed to touch the head. a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) ii. i. 83 For if thou path thy natiue semblance on, Not Erebus it selfe were dimme enough, To hide thee from preuention. View more context for this quotation †3. transitive. To make or beat down (a path or way) by treading. Chiefly figurative: to establish firmly, to entrench. Only in past participle. Cf. pathed adj. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > track, trail, or path > [verb (transitive)] > beat a path treada1425 to beat a path1589 path1642 1642 D. Rogers Naaman 423 [They] become more pathed in their sinnes by much beating upon. a1653 H. Binning Serm. (1845) 138 They choose the way that is best pathed and trodden. 1765 J. Brown Christian Jrnl. 280 What a mercy for weak and halt me, that the way is here pathed. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022). > see also also refers to : -pathcomb. form < n.¹eOEn.²1937v.eOE see also
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