Etymology dictionary

passport (n.) — patroclinous (adj.)

passport (n.)

c. 1500, passe-porte, "authorization to travel through a country," from Old French passeport "authorization to pass through a port" to enter or leave a country (15c.), from passe, imperative of passer "to pass" (see pass (v.)) + port "port" (see port (n.1)). The original sense is obsolete; the meaning "document issued by competent civil authority granting permission to the person named in it to travel in or out of a country or authenticating his right to protection while abroad" is from 1540s. In early use often indicating principally the right to leave one's country.

password (n.)

"secret word appointed as a sign to distinguish friend from foe," 1798, from pass (v.) + word (n.).

paste (v.1)

1560s, "to stick with paste or cement;" see paste (n.). Meaning "apply paste to, cover by pasting over" is from c. 1600. Middle English had pasten "to make a paste of; bake in a pastry." Related: Pasted; pasting.

past (n.)

c. 1500, "times gone by, the time that has preceded the present," from past (adj.). Meaning "a past life, career, or history" is attested by 1836.

paste (n.)

c. 1300 (mid-12c. as a surname), "dough for the making of bread or pastry," from Old French paste "dough, pastry" (13c., Modern French pâte), from Late Latin pasta "dough, pastry cake, paste" (see pasta). Meaning "glue mixture, dough used as a plaster seal" is attested from c. 1400; broader sense of "a composition just moist enough to be soft without liquefying" is by c. 1600. In reference to a kind of heavy glass made of ground quartz, etc., often used to imitate gems, by 1660s.

past (adj.)

early 14c., "done with, over, existing no more," a variant of passed, past participle of passen "go by" (see pass (v.)). Meaning "gone by, belonging to a time previous to this" is from mid-14c. The grammatical sense of "expressing past action or state" is from 1520s; past participle is recorded by 1775; past tense from 1650s. As a preposition, "beyond in time or position," c. 1300, from the adjective.

paste (v.2)

"hit hard," by 1846, probably an alteration of baste "beat" (see lambaste) influenced by some sense of paste (n.1). Related: Pasted; pasting.

pasta (n.)

a generic name for Italian dough-based foods such as spaghetti, macaroni, etc., 1874, but not common in English until after World War II, from Italian pasta, from Late Latin pasta "dough, pastry cake, paste," from Greek pasta "barley porridge," probably originally "a salted mess of food," from neuter plural of pastos (adj.) "sprinkled, salted," from passein "to sprinkle," from PIE root *kwet- "to shake" (see quash).

pasteboard (n.)

kind of thick paper, 1540s, from paste (n.) + board (n.1). So called because it originally was made of several single sheets of paper pasted together.

pastel (n.)

1660s, "crayons, chalk-like pigment used in crayons," from French pastel "crayon," from Italian pastello "a pastel," literally "material reduced to a paste," probably from Late Latin pastellus, diminutive of pasta "dough, paste" (see pasta). The word was applied to pale or light colors (like that of pastels) by 1899. As an adjective from 1884.

pastern (n.)

late 13c., pastron, "shackle fixed on the foot of a horse or other beast," from Old French pasturon (Modern French paturon), diminutive of pasture "shackle for a horse in pasture," from Vulgar Latin *pastoria, noun use of fem. of Latin pastorius "of herdsmen," from pastor "shepherd" (see pastor). Metathesis of -r- and the following vowel occurred 1500s. The original sense is obsolete; the meaning was extended by 1520s to the part of the horse's leg between the fetlock and the hoof, to which the tether was attached.

paste-up (n.)

1930, in printing, "a plan of a page with the position of text, illustrations, etc. indicated," from verbal phrase; see paste (v.) + up (adv.).

pasteurize (v.)

"to perform pasteurization, sterilize by heat," 1881, with -ize, after Louis Pasteur (1822-1895), French chemist and bacteriologist, who invented the process of heating food, milk, wine, etc., to kill most of the micro-organisms in it; distinguished from sterilization, which involves killing all of them. The surname is literally "Pastor." Related: Pasteurized; pasteurizing.

pasteurization (n.)

the preserving of wines, etc., by destroying fungi and spores by heating to at least 140 degrees Fahrenheit, 1885, from pasteurize + noun ending -ation.

pasty (n.)

c. 1300, "a type of meat pie, a pie covered with paste or pie crust," especially one of venison or other seasoned meat, from Old French paste "dough, pastry," from Vulgar Latin *pastata "meat wrapped in pastry" from Latin pasta "dough, paste" (see pasta).

pasty (adj.)

"resembling paste" in consistence or color, 1650s, from paste (n.) + -y (2). Related: Pastiness.

pasties (n.)

"adhesive patches worn over the nipples by exotic dancers," 1957, plural diminutive from paste (v.).

pastiche (n.)

"a medley made up of fragments from different works," 1878, from French pastiche (18c.), from Italian pasticcio "medley, pastry cake," from Vulgar Latin *pasticium "composed of paste," from Late Latin pasta "paste, pastry cake" (see pasta). Borrowed earlier (1752) in the Italian form.

pastime (n.)

"amusement, diversion, that which serves to make the time pass agreeably," late 15c., passe tyme "recreation, diversion, amusement, sport," from pass (v.) + time (n.). Formed on model of French passe-temps (15c.), from passe, imperative of passer "to pass" + temps "time," from Latin tempus "time" (see temporal (adj.1)).

pastoralism (n.)

"pastoral character, that which has or suggests idealized rural qualities," by 1809, from pastoral + -ism.

pastoral (adj.)

early 15c., "of or pertaining to shepherds or the life of a shepherd," from Old French pastoral (13c.) and directly from Latin pastoralis "of herdsmen, of shepherds," from pastor "shepherd" (see pastor (n.)). Meaning "of or pertaining to a Christian pastor or his office" is from 1520s. The noun sense of "poem treating of or descriptive of country life generally," usually in an idealized form and emphasizing its purity and happiness, in which the characters are shepherds or shepherdesses, is from 1580s.

pastor (n.)

late 14c. (mid-13c. as a surname), "shepherd, one who has care of a flock or herd" (a sense now obsolete), also figurative, "spiritual guide, shepherd of souls, a Christian minister or clergyman," from Old French pastor, pastur "herdsman, shepherd" (12c.) and directly from Latin pastor "shepherd," from pastus, past participle of pascere "to lead to pasture, set to grazing, cause to eat," from PIE root *pa- "to feed; tend, guard, protect." Compare pasture.

The spiritual sense was in Church Latin (e.g. Gregory's "Cura Pastoralis"). The verb in the Christian sense is from 1872.

pastorale (n.)

"musical composition from rustic tunes or representing pastoral scenes," 1724, from Italian pastorale, originally a variety of opera or cantata, noun use of an adjective, from Latin pastoralis "of herdsmen or shepherds" (see pastoral).

pastoralist (n.)

"a writer of pastorals," 1793, from pastoral + -ist. Perhaps modeled on earlier German Pastoralist.

pastrami (n.)

highly seasoned smoked beef, 1916, from Yiddish pastrame, from Rumanian pastrama, probably from Turkish pastrima, variant of basdirma "dried meat," from root *bas- "to press." Another possible origin of the Rumanian word [Barnhart] is Modern Greek pastono "I salt," from classical Greek pastos "sprinkled with salt, salted." The spelling in English with -mi probably from influence of salami.

pastry (n.)

mid-15c., "food made with or from paste or having it as a principal ingredient," not originally limited to sweets, from Middle English paste (see paste (n.)) + -ry. Probably influenced by Old French pastoierie "pastry" (Modern French pâtisserie), from pastoier "pastry cook," from paste (see paste (n.)); also borrowed from Medieval Latin pasteria "pastry," from Latin pasta. Specific sense of "small confection made of pastry" is by 1906. Pastry-cook is attested from 1650s.

pasture (n.)

c. 1300, "land covered with vegetation suitable for grazing;" also "grass eaten by cattle or other animals," from Old French pasture "fodder, grass eaten by cattle" (12c., Modern French pâture), from Late Latin pastura "a feeding, grazing," from Latin pastus, past participle of pascere "to feed, graze," from PIE root *pa- "to feed." To be out to pasture in the figurative sense of "retired" is by 1945, from where horses were sent (ideally) after their active working life.

pasture (v.)

late 14c., pasturen, of animals, "to graze;" c. 1400, "to lead (an animal) to pasture, to feed by putting in a pasture," from Old French pasturer (12c., Modern French pâturer, from pasture (see pasture (n.)). Related: Pastured; pasturing.

pasturage (n.)

1530s, "grazing ground;" 1570s, "the business of feeding or grazing cattle," from Old French pasturage (13c, Modern French pâturage), from pasturer "to pasture" (see pasture (v.)). Middle English had pasturing (n.); late 14c.

pat (n.)

c. 1400, "a blow, stroke," perhaps originally imitative of the sound. Meaning "light tap with hand" is from c. 1804. Sense of "that which is formed by patting" (as in pat of butter) is 1754, probably from the verb. Pat on the back in the figurative sense "gesture or expression of encouragement, sympathy, etc." is attested by 1804.

pat (v.)

1560s, "to hit, throw;" meaning "to tap or strike lightly" is from 1714; from pat (n.). Related: Patted; patting. The nursery rhyme phrase pat-a-cake is known from 1823. Alternative patty-cake (usually American English) is attested from 1794 (in "Mother Goose's Melody, or Sonnets for the Cradle," Worcester, Mass.).

pat (adv.)

1570s, "aptly, suitably, at the right time," perhaps from pat (adj.) in sense of "that which hits the mark," a special use from pat (n.) in the sense of "a hitting" of the mark. The modern adjective meaning "that is exactly to the purpose, suitable for the occasion" is 1630s, from the adverb.

Pat

as a fem. proper name, short for Patricia. As a masc. proper name, short for Patrick; hence a nickname for any Irishman.

Patagonia

region at the southern extremity of South America, with -ia + Patagon, name given by Europeans to the Tehuelche people who inhabited the coasts of the region, sometimes said to mean literally "large-foot," from Spanish and Portuguese pata "paw, animal foot" (see patten) in reference to the people's llama-skin shoes. But elsewhere said to be from Patagon, name of a dog-headed monster in the prose romance "Amadís de Gaula" (1508) by Garci Ordóñez de Montalvo (which also might have yielded California). Related: Patagonian.

patch (n.1)

"piece of cloth used to mend another material," late 14c., pacche, of obscure origin, perhaps a variant of pece, pieche, from Old North French pieche (see piece (n.1)), or from an unrecorded Old English word (Old English had claðflyhte for "a patch").

Meaning "portion of any surface different from what is around it" is from 1590s. That of "small piece of ground," especially one under cultivation, is from 1570s. As "small piece of plaster used on the face," to cover blemishes or enhance beauty is from 1590s. Phrase not a patch on "nowhere near as good as" is from 1860.

patch (v.)

mid-15c., pacchen, "to put a patch on, mend by adding a patch," from patch (n.1). Electronics sense of "to connect temporarily" is attested from 1923 on the notion of tying together various pieces of apparatus to form a circuit. Related: Patched; patching.

patch (n.2)

"fool, clown," 1540s, perhaps from Italian pazzo "fool," a word of unknown origin. Possibly from Old High German barzjan "to rave" [Klein]. But Buck says pazzo is originally euphemistic, and from Latin patiens "suffering," in medical use, "the patient." The form perhaps was influenced by folk etymology derivation from patch (n.1), on notion of a fool's patched garb.

patchy (adj.)

1798, "full of patches; spotty, occurring only in patches," from patch (n.1) + -y (2). Related: Patchiness.

patchouli (n.)

perfume made from an odoriferous Indian plant of the mint family, 1845, from the native name of the plant in Madras, which is said to be from Tamil pachchai "green" + ilai "leaf." The form of the word appears French, but this has not been explained and the record of it in English predates that in French.

patchwork (n.)

1690s, "work composed of ill-sorted parts clumsily put together;" 1720s (though perhaps the older sense) "work composed of pieces of various colors or figures sewed together;" from patch (n.1) + work (n.). As an adjective, "made up of odds and ends," from 1713.

pate (n.1)

"top of the head," early 14c. (late 12c. in surnames), of unknown origin; perhaps a shortened form of Old French patene or Medieval Latin patena, both from Latin patina "pan, dish" (see pan (n.)). "[U]sually employed in a trivial or derogatory sense" [Century Dictionary].

patella (n.)

"knee cap, small movable bone in front of the knee-joint," 1690s, from Latin patella "small pan or dish; kneecap," diminutive of patina "pan" (see pan (n.)). So called from its shape. Earlier in Englished form patel (1570s). Related: Patellar; patelliform.

paten (n.)

"plate for bread at Eucharist," c. 1300, from Old French patene and directly from Medieval Latin patena, from Latin patina "pan; broad, shallow dish," from Greek patane "plate, dish" (from PIE root *pete- "to spread").

patency (n.)

"the state of being evident," 1650s, from patent (adj.) + abstract noun suffix -cy.

patent (adj.)

late 14c., "granting a right, privilege, or power," in letters patent, literally "open letter" (see patent (n.)), from Old French patente "open," from Latin patentem (nominative patens) "open, lying open," present participle of patere "lie open, be open" (from PIE root *pete- "to spread"). The sense of "open to view, plain, clear" is recorded from c. 1500. As an adverb, "openly, publicly, unmistakably," mid-15c. Related: Patently.

patent (n.)

late 14c., "open letter or official document from some authority granting permission to do something; a licence granting an office, right, title, etc.," shortened from Anglo-French lettre patent (also in Medieval Latin litteræ patentes), literally "open letter" (late 13c.), from Old French patente "open," from Latin patentem (nominative patens) "open, lying open," present participle of patere "lie open, be open" (from PIE root *pete- "to spread").

Meaning "a licence granted by a government covering a new and useful invention, conferring exclusive right to exploit the invention for a specified term of years" is from 1580s.

patent (v.)

1670s, "to obtain right to land" by securing letters patent, from patent (n.). The meaning "obtain a copyright to an invention" is recorded by 1822, from the earlier meaning "obtain exclusive right or monopoly" (1789), a privilege granted by the Crown via letters patent. Related: Patented; patenting.

paterfamilias (n.)

"male head of a family or household," late 15c., from Latin pater familias "master of a house, head of a family," from pater "father" (see father (n.)) + familias, old genitive of familia "family" (see family).

paternity (n.)

mid-15c., paternite, "condition of being a father, relation of a father to a child or of God to mankind," from Old French paternité (12c.), from Late Latin paternitatem (nominative paternitas) "fatherly care, fatherhood," from Latin paternus "of a father," from pater (see father (n.)). Meaning "paternal origin, derivation from a father" is from 1868.

paternal (adj.)

early 15c., "of or pertaining to a father," from Old French paternal "of a father" (12c.), from Medieval Latin paternalis, from Latin paternus "of a father, fatherly," from pater (see father (n.)). By c. 1600 as "proper to or characteristic of a father; from 1610s as "inherited from a father."

paternalism (n.)

1851, "feeling of a father for his children," from paternal + -ism. By 1866 "government as by a father over his children, undue solicitude on the part of the central government for the protection of the people," specifically "excessive governmental regulation of the private affairs and business methods of the people." Related: Paternalistic (1890).

paternoster (n.)

"the Lord's Prayer," Old English Pater Noster, from Latin pater noster "our father," the first words of the Lord's Prayer in Latin. Meaning "set of rosary beads" is by mid-13c. (originally it was the name of one of the larger beads). Paternoster Row, near St. Paul's in London (similarly named streets are found in other cathedral cities), reflects the once-important industry of rosary bead-making.

path (n.)

Old English paþ, pæþ "narrow passageway or route across land, a track worn by the feet of people or animals treading it," from West Germanic *patha- (source also of Old Frisian path, Middle Dutch pat, Dutch pad, Old High German pfad, German Pfad "path"), a word of uncertain origin, not attested in Old Norse or Gothic.

The original initial -p- in a Germanic word is an etymological puzzle. Don Ringe ("From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic," Oxford 2006), reflecting an old theory, describes it as "An obvious loan from Iranian ..., clearly borrowed after Grimm's Law had run its course." Watkins says the word is "probably borrowed (? via Scythian) from Iranian *path-," from PIE root *pent- "to tread, go, pass" (source of Avestan patha "way;" see find (v.)), but this is too much of a stretch for OED and others. In Scotland and Northern England, commonly a steep ascent of a hill or in a road.

-path

word-forming element used in modern formations to mean "one suffering from" (a disease or condition), from Greek pathos "suffering" (from PIE root *kwent(h)- "to suffer"). Also "one versed in" (a certain type of treatment), in which cases it is a back-formation from -pathy in the related sense.

pathetic (adj.)

1590s, "affecting the emotions or affections, moving, stirring" (now obsolete in this broad sense), from French pathétique "moving, stirring, affecting" (16c.), from Late Latin patheticus, from Greek pathetikos "subject to feeling, sensitive, capable of emotion," from pathetos "liable to suffer," verbal adjective of pathein "to suffer" (from PIE root *kwent(h)- "to suffer").

The specific meaning "arousing pity, sorrow, or grief" or other tender feelings is from 1737. The colloquial sense of "so miserable as to be ridiculous" is attested by 1937. Related: Pathetical (1570s); pathetically. The pathetic fallacy (1856, first used by Ruskin) is the attribution of human qualities to inanimate objects.

Pathet Lao

communist guerrilla movement and political party in Laos, 1954, from Laotian Thai, literally "Land of the Lao" (see Laos).

pathfinder (n.)

"one who discovers a way, an explorer or pioneer," 1839 (Cooper), from path + finder.

-pathy

word-forming element of Greek origin meaning "feeling, suffering, emotion; disorder, disease," from Latin -pathia, from Greek -patheia "act of suffering, feeling" (from PIE root *kwent(h)- "to suffer"). In the meaning "system of treatment of disease, method, cure, curative treatment" it is abstracted from homeopathy (q.v.).

-pathic

word-forming element from Latin pathicus, from Greek pathikos "suffering, remaining passive," from pathein "to suffer" (from PIE root *kwent(h)- "to suffer").

pathless (adj.)

"having no beaten way, untrodden," 1590s, from path + -less.

patho-

before vowels path-, word-forming element in science and technical terms meaning "suffering, disease," from Greek pathos "suffering, disease" (from PIE root *kwent(h)- "to suffer").

pathos (n.)

"quality that arouses pity or sorrow," 1660s, from Greek pathos "suffering, feeling, emotion, calamity," literally "what befalls one," related to paskhein "to suffer," pathein "to suffer, feel," penthos "grief, sorrow;" from PIE root *kwent(h)- "to suffer."

pathogen (n.)

also pathogene, "disease-producing micro-organism," 1880, a back-formation from pathogenic.

pathogenic (adj.)

"producing disease," 1836, from French pathogénique, from Greek pathos "disease" (from PIE root *kwent(h)- "to suffer") + French -génique "producing" (see -gen). Related: Pathogenetic (1838); pathogenicity.

pathogenesis (n.)

"mode of production, origin, or development of a disease," 1841, earlier in German, from patho- + genesis. Alternative (Englished) form pathogeny is older (1832).

pathognomonic (adj.)

"belonging to or inseparable from a disease," 1680s, from patho- "disease, suffering" + Greek gnōmōnikos "able to judge," from gnōmōn "one who knows" (see gnomon). Related: Pathognomonical (1640s); pathognomy.

pathological (adj.)

1680s, "pertaining to disease," formed in English from pathologic + -al (1). Sense of "worthy to be a subject of pathology, morbid, excessive" (as in pathological liar) is attested from 1845. Related: Pathologically.

pathology (n.)

"science of diseases," 1610s, from French pathologie (16c.), from medical Latin pathologia "study of disease," from Greek pathos "suffering" (from PIE root *kwent(h)- "to suffer") + -logia "study" (see -logy). In reference to the study of abnormal mental conditions from 1842. Ancient Greek pathologia was "study of the passions;" the Greek word for "science of diseases" was pathologike ("pathologics").

pathologic (adj.)

"pertaining to pathology, of or pertaining to disease," 1650s, perhaps modeled on French pathologique; see pathology + -ic.

pathologist (n.)

"one versed in the nature or diagnosis of diseases," 1640s, from pathology + -ist.

pathophysiology (adj.)

1952, from patho- + physiology.

pathway (n.)

1530s, from path + way (n.). An etymological tautology.

patience (n.)

c. 1200, pacience, "quality of being willing to bear adversities, calm endurance of misfortune, suffering, etc.," from Old French pacience "patience; sufferance, permission" (12c.) and directly from Latin patientia "the quality of suffering or enduring; submission," also "indulgence, leniency; humility; submissiveness; submission to lust;" literally "quality of suffering." It is an abstract noun formed from the adjective patientem (nominative patiens) "bearing, supporting; suffering, enduring, permitting; tolerant," but also "firm, unyielding, hard," used of persons as well as of navigable rivers, present participle of pati "to endure, undergo, experience," which is of uncertain origin.

Meaning "quiet or calmness in waiting for something to happen" is from late 14c. Meaning "constancy in labor or exertion" is attested from 1510s. Meaning "card game for one person" is from 1816.

patient (adj.)

mid-14c., paciente, "capable of enduring misfortune, suffering, etc., without complaint," from Old French pacient and directly from Latin patientem "bearing, supporting, suffering, enduring, permitting" (see patience). From late 14c. as "slow to anger, self-restrained, having the temper which endures trials and provocations." From late 15c. as "awaiting or expecting an outcome calmly and without discontent." The meaning "pertaining to a medical patient" is late 14c., from the noun. Related: Patiently.

patient (n.)

"suffering, injured, or sick person under medical treatment," late 14c., from Old French pacient (n.), from the adjective, from Latin patientem "suffering" (see patience). In Middle English also of anyone who suffered patiently.

patina (n.)

"greenish encrustation on old bronze," 1748, from French patine (18c.), from Italian patina. This appears to be from Latin patina "shallow pan, dish, stew-pan" (from Greek patane "plate, dish," from PIE *pet-ano-, from root *pete- "to spread"), but it is uncertain why, as patina was found on many ancient objects other than bronze plates and pans. It was considered to add greatly to the beauty of antique bronzes, hence the sense of "refinement, cultural sophistication" recorded by 1933. Extended by the 1890s to the surface textures of other works of decorative arts.

patio (n.)

1818, "an inner court open to the sky" in Spanish and Spanish-American countries, from Spanish patio probably from Old Provençal patu, pati "untilled land, communal pasture," from Latin pactum "agreement, contract, covenant," noun use of neuter past participle of pacisci "to covenant, to agree, make a treaty," from PIE root *pag- "to fasten." Another theory traces the Spanish word to Latin patere "to lie open." Meaning "paved and enclosed terrace beside a building" is recorded by 1941. Patio furniture is attested from 1924 in California newspaper advertisements; patio door by 1973.

patisserie (n.)

1784, from French pâtisserie "pastry shop," from pâtisser "pastry-seller, pastry-cook," from Old French pasticier (14c.), from Medieval Latin pasticium "pasty, composed of paste," from Late Latin pasta "paste, pastry cake" (see pasta).

patois (n.)

"a provincial dialect, a dialect peculiar to a district or locality," especially among the uneducated classes, 1640s, from French patois "native or local speech" (13c.), a word of uncertain origin, probably from Old French patoier "handle clumsily, to paw," from pate "a paw," from Vulgar Latin *patta (see patten), in other words, a "clumsy" manner of speaking. Compare French pataud "properly, a young dog with big paws, then an awkwardly built fellow" [Brachet]. Especially in reference to Jamaican English from 1934.

patootie (n.)

"sweetheart, pretty girl," colloquial American English, 1921, perhaps a corruption of potato (c.f. sweet potato). Sweet patootie is recorded from 1919 as a generic exclamation.

patri-

word-forming element used in terms describing kinship of the father or the paternal line, from Latin patri-, combining form of pater (see father (n.)).

patriarch (n.)

late 12c., patriarke, "one of the Old Testament fathers," progenitors of the Israelites, from Old French patriarche (11c.) and directly from Late Latin patriarcha (Tertullian), from Greek patriarkhēs "chief or head of a family," from patria "family, clan," from pater "father" (see father (n.)) + arkhein "to rule" (see archon). Also used as an honorific title of certain bishops of the highest rank in the early Church, notably those of Antioch, Alexandria, and Rome. The meaning "the father and ruler of a family" is by 1817.

patriarchal (adj.)

mid-15c., patriarchial, "pertaining to a (Church) patriarch," especially in reference to the five Roman basilicas, from patriarch + -al, or else from Medieval Latin patriarchalis, from patriarcha. Meaning "resembling or characteristic of a patriarch" is from 1640s. Related: Patriarchalism.

patriarchy (n.)

1560s, "ecclesiastical province under a patriarch; church government by patriarchs," from Latinized form of Greek patriarkhia, from patriarkhēs "male chief or head of a family" (see patriarch). Meaning "system of society or government by fathers or elder males of the community" is recorded from 1630s.

patriate (v.)

1966, in Canadian English (perhaps coined by Lester B. Pearson) in reference to constitutional laws passed by a former mother country and brought under the authority of a now-autonomous country, probably a back-formation from repatriate. Related: Patriated; patriation.

Patricia

fem. proper name, from Latin, fem. of patricius "patrician, noble" (see Patrick).

patrician (n.)

early 15c., patricion, "member of the ancient Roman noble order," reputed descendants of the original citizens, from Old French patricien, from Latin patricius "of the rank of the nobles, of the senators; of fatherly dignity," from patres conscripti "Roman senators," from plural of pater "father" (see father (n.)).

In ancient Rome, contrasted with the plebeius (see plebeian). In post-classical times, applied to noble citizens and higher orders of free folk in medieval Italian and German cities (a sense attested in English from 1610s); hence "nobleman, aristocrat" in a modern sense (1630s). As an adjective, attested from 1610s, from the noun. Related: Patricianism.

patricide (n.)

1. "person who kills his father" (1590s), 2. "act of killing one's father" (1620s), from French patricide in both senses, presumed to be from 1. Latin *patricida "murderer of a father," 2. Latin *patricidium "killing of a father," from pater "father" + 1. cida "killer," 2. cidium "killing" (both from PIE root *kae-id- "to strike"). The usual classical Latin form was parricida/parricidium.

Patrick

masc. proper name, from Old Irish Patraicc (Irish Padraig), from Latin Patricius, literally "a patrician" (see patrician). As a given name, chiefly in northern England and Scotland, in Ireland a popular name only after 1600, due probably to the Scots settlers in Ulster [Reaney]. The form was unsettled at first; the minor Caroline poet also spelled himself Patheryke Jenkyns.

patrilineal (adj.)

of lineage, kinship, etc., "traced through or descended from the father," 1904, from patri- + lineal.

patrilocal (adj.)

1906, in reference to the customs of certain social groups where a married couple settles in the husband's house or community, from patri- + local (adj.).

patrimony (n.)

mid-14c., patrimoine, "property of the Church," also "spiritual legacy of Christ," from Old French patremoine "heritage, patrimony" (12c.) and directly from Latin patrimonium "a paternal estate, inheritance from a father," also figurative, from pater (genitive patris) "father" (see father (n.)) + -monium, suffix signifying action, state, condition.

In English law, the meaning "right or property inherited from a father or ancestors" is attested from late 14c. Figurative sense of "immaterial things handed down from the past, heritage" is from 1580s. A curious sense contrast to matrimony.

patrimonial (adj.)

1520s, "inherited from an ancestor or ancestors," from French patrimonial and directly from Late Latin patrimonialis, from Latin patrimonium "inheritance from a father" (see patrimony). Related: Patrimonially.

patriot (n.)

1590s, "compatriot," from French patriote (15c.) and directly from Late Latin patriota "fellow-countryman" (6c.), from Greek patriotes "fellow countryman," from patrios "of one's fathers," patris "fatherland," from pater (genitive patros) "father" (see father (n.)); with -otes, suffix expressing state or condition. Liddell & Scott write that patriotes was "applied to barbarians who had only a common [patris], [politai] being used of Greeks who had a common [polis] (or free-state)."

Meaning "loyal and disinterested lover and defender of one's country and its interests" is attested from c. 1600, but it became an ironic term of ridicule or abuse from mid-18c. in England, so that Johnson, who at first defined it as "one whose ruling passion is the love of his country," in his fourth edition added, "It is sometimes used for a factious disturber of the government."

It was somewhat revived in reference to resistance movements in overrun countries in World War II, and it has usually had a positive sense in American English, where the phony and rascally variety has been consigned to the word patrioteer (1928).

Oriana Fallaci ["The Rage and the Pride," 2002] marvels that Americans, so fond of patriotic, patriot, and patriotism, lack the root noun and are content to express the idea of patria by cumbersome compounds such as homeland. (Joyce, Shaw, and H.G. Wells all used patria as an English word early 20c., but it failed to stick.) Patriots' Day (April 19, the anniversary of the 1775 skirmishes at Lexington and Concord Bridge) was observed as a legal holiday in Maine and Massachusetts from 1894.

patriot (adj.)

"patriotic," 1732, from patriot (n.).

patriotic (adj.)

1650s, "of one's own country," from French patriotique or directly from Late Latin patrioticus, from Greek patriotikos, from patriotes (see patriot). Meaning "full of patriotism, supporting one's own country; directed to the public safety and welfare" is from 1757. Related: Patriotical.

patriotism (n.)

"love of one's country; the passion which moves a person to serve his country, either in defending it or in protecting its rights and maintaining its laws and institutions," 1726, from patriot + -ism.

The patriotic quip My country, right or wrong traces to a toast given by U.S. War of 1812 naval hero Stephen Decatur at a public dinner in Norfolk, Va., in April 1816, but the original seems to have been "Our country; in her intercourse with other nations may she be always right; and always successful, right or wrong." [as reported in the Pittsfield, Mass., "Sun," July 4, 1816], or similar words.

In 1823 and for a few years after, "Our Country—Right or Wrong" was printed in U.S. newspapers as the name of a song played on patriotic occasions [e.g., Pittsfield, Mass., "Sun," July 10, 1823], and by the fall of 1823 Decatur's toast was being quoted as "Our Country—right or wrong" [Hartford "Courant," Nov. 25, 1823].

The amendment often attributed to Carl Schurz in 1872, who did say it on the floor of the Senate, seems to be older: