- Comment
- Love
Word of the Day : September 28, 2017
pace \PAY-see\ preposition
Definition
: contrary to the opinion of — usually used as an expression of deference to someone's contrary opinion
Examples
Pace the editorialist, there are in fact multiple solutions to these kinds of problems.
"The public museums, great and small, that are one of America's educational glories house collections expensively assembled by rich men and (pace Isabella Gardner and Baltimore's Cone sisters) women with lofty but not selfless motives." — John Updike, The New York Review of Books, 5 Oct. 2006
Did You Know?
Though used in English since the 19th century, the preposition pace has yet to shed its Latin mantle, and for that reason it's most at home in formal writing or in contexts in which one is playing at formality. The Latin word pace is a form of pax, meaning "peace" or "permission," and when used sincerely the word does indeed suggest a desire for both. This Latin borrowing is unrelated to the more common noun pace (as in "keeping pace") and its related verb ("pacing the room"); these also come from Latin, but from the word pandere, meaning "to spread."
Aired September 28, 2017
All Merriam-Webster content is available at www.merriam-webster.com
- Recommended Recommended
- History & In Progress History
- Browse Library
- Most Popular Library
Get Personalized Recommendations
Let us help you figure out what to learn! By taking a short interview you’ll be able to specify your learning interests and goals, so we can recommend the perfect courses and lessons to try next.
Start InterviewYou don't have any lessons in your history.
Just find something that looks interesting and start learning!