pace

Webster's Dictionary (1913)

Origin: OE. pas, F. pas, from L. passus a step, pace, orig., a stretching out of the feet in walking; cf. pandere, passum, to spread, stretch; perh. akin to E. patent. Cf. Pas, Pass.

1. A single movement from one foot to the other in walking; a step.

2. The length of a step in walking or marching, reckoned from the heel of one foot to the heel of the other; — used as a unit in measuring distances; as, he advanced fifty paces. “The height of sixty pace.” Geoffrey Chaucer

☞ Ordinarily the pace is estimated at two and one half linear feet; but in measuring distances be stepping, the pace is extended to three feet (one yard) or to three and three tenths feet (one fifth of a rod). The regulation marching pace in the English and United States armies is thirty inches for quick time, and thirty-six inches for double time. The Roman pace (passus) was from the heel of one foot to the heel of the same foot when it next touched the ground, five Roman feet.

3. Manner of stepping or moving; gait; walk; as, the walk, trot, canter, gallop, and amble are paces of the horse; a swaggering pace; a quick pace. Geoffrey Chaucer

To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day.— William Shakespeare

In the military schools of riding a variety of paces are taught.— Robert Walsh

4. A slow gait; a footpace. obsolete Chucer.

5. Specifically, a kind of fast amble; a rack.

6. Any single movement, step, or procedure. rare

The first pace necessary for his majesty to make is to fall into confidence with Spain.— Sir William Temple

7. Architecture A broad step or platform; any part of a floor slightly raised above the rest, as around an altar, or at the upper end of a hall.

8. Weaving A device in a loom, to maintain tension on the warp in pacing the web.

9. The rate of progress of any process or activity; as, the students ran at a rapid pace; the plants grew at a remarkable pace.

Geometrical pace, the space from heel to heel between the spot where one foot is set down and that where the same foot is again set down, loosely estimated at five feet, or by some at four feet and two fifths. See Roman pace in the Note under def. 2. obsolete — To keep pace with or To hold pace with, to keep up with; to go as fast as. “In intellect and attainments he kept pace with his age.” Robert Southey — To put (someone) through one's paces to cause (someone) to perform an act so as to demonstrate his/her skill or ability.

1. To go; to walk; specifically, to move with regular or measured steps. “I paced on slowly.” Alexander Pope “With speed so pace.” William Shakespeare

2. To proceed; to pass on. obsolete

Or [ere] that I further in this tale pace.— Geoffrey Chaucer

3. To move quickly by lifting the legs on the same side together, as a horse; to amble with rapidity; to rack.

4. To pass away; to die. obsolete Geoffrey Chaucer

1. To walk over with measured tread; to move slowly over or upon; as, the guard paces his round. “Pacing light the velvet plain.” Thomas Warton

2. To measure by steps or paces; as, to pace a piece of ground. Often used with out; as, to pace out the distance.

3. To develop, guide, or control the pace or paces of; to teach the pace; to break in.

If you can, pace your wisdom In that good path that I would wish it go.— William Shakespeare

To pace the web Weaving, to wind up the cloth on the beam, periodically, as it is woven, in a loom.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54 · with additions: +PJC, GCIDE editors

Free On-line Dictionary of Computing

A CPU based on the Nova design, but with 16-bit addressing, more addressing modes and a 10 level stack (like the Intel 8008).

(1994-11-30)