path

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

[edit] English

[edit] Etymology

Old English pæþ, from West Germanic *paþaz, an early borrowing from an Iranian language (Avestan pɑntɑ, gen. pɑθɑ 'way', Old Persian pɑthi-), in which case it would be derived from the same Indo-European root as English find (namely, Proto-Indo-European *pent-). Cognate with Dutch pad, German Pfad.

[edit] Pronunciation

• (US) IPA: /pæθ/
• (UK) IPA: /pɑːθ/, /pæθ/
•  Audio (US)^{help, file}
• Rhymes: -ɑːθ

[edit] Noun

path (plural paths)

1. (concrete):
   1. a trail for the use of, or worn by, pedestrians.
   2. a course taken.
   3. (paganism) A Pagan tradition, for example witchcraft, Wicca, druidism, Heathenry.
2. (abstract)
   1. a metaphorical course.
   2. a method or direction of proceeding.
   3. a sequence (in the graph theory) of vertices from one vertex to another using the arcs (edges). A path does not visit the same vertex more than once (unless it is a closed path, where only the first and the last vertex are the same).

[edit] Synonyms

• (1): track, trail

[edit] Derived terms

• cross paths
• pathway
• footpath
• path of least resistance

[edit] Translations

[edit] References

• Oxford English Dictionary, (DRAFT REVISION June 2005)