pas

The right of going foremost; precedence.

Noun archaic

  1. The right of going foremost; precedence.
    • ‘Nobody of any elegance of manners can exist, where tradesmen, attornies, and mechanics have the pas.’ - 1792, Charlotte Smith, Desmond, Broadview, published 2001, page 71:
    • Even Mrs. Bute Crawley, the Rector's wife, refused to visit her, as she said she would never give the pas to a tradesman's daughter. - 1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 9, in Vanity Fair...
  2. A step in a dance.
    • The premier pas in life is the most important of all …… - 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 18, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London:...

Origin

Etymology tree French pasbor. English pas Borrowed from French pas.

Forms

pas

Related

haut-pas n'est-ce pas pas de deux pas de quatre pas de trois pas devant pas devant les enfants pas seul

Derived

have the pas of someone

Noun form of, plural

  1. plural of pa

Origin

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.