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peace

PEES · noun

Proto-Indo-EuropeanProto-ItalicLatinOld FrenchAnglo-NormanMiddle EnglishEnglish

Origin

English peace comes from Middle English pees, borrowed from Anglo-Norman peis and Old French pais, from Latin pāx, itself from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ḱ- meaning 'to fasten, stick, place.'

Journey

The word traveled from Latin pāx through Old French pais and Anglo-Norman peis before settling into Middle English as pees, eventually becoming the English peace we use today.

Related words

It's a doublet of pax, and it's tied to Latin pacīscor ('agree, stipulate') and pangō ('fasten, fix'), the same root behind pact — since peace originally meant something firmly agreed upon.

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