passim

English

WOTD – 2 January 2007

Etymology

Etymology tree

Latin pandō

Proto-Indo-European *-tim

Proto-Italic *-tim

Latin -tim

Latin passimubor.

English passim

Unadapted borrowing from Latin passim (“everywhere, here and there”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpæ.sɪm/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æsɪm
• Hyphenation: pas‧sim

Adverb

passim (not comparable)

1. Used in citations to indicate that something, as a word, phrase, or idea, is to be found at many places throughout the work cited; here and there, throughout.
   • 1751, David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals:

     The sceptics assert [Sext. Emp. adversus Math. lib. viii.], though absurdly, that the origin of all religious worship was derived from the utility of inanimate objects, as the sun and moon, to the support and well-being of mankind. This is also the common reason assigned by historians, for the deification of eminent heroes and legislators [Diod. Sic. passim.].

   • 1978, Supreme Court of the United States, F.C.C. v. Pacifica Foundation:

     See also Hearings on H.R.8825 before the House Committee on the Merchant Marine and Fisheries, 70th Cong., 1st Sess., passim (1928).

Usage notes

• This unadapted English borrowing is typically printed with italic type.

Related terms

• et passim
• sic passim

Adjective

passim (not comparable)

1. (rare) That occurs at various places throughout a text.
   • 1895, J. Marshall, Westminster Gazette, 4, September 2/3:

     In these passim allusions one often ‘nods’.

Translations

throughout; frequently

• Bulgarian: навсякъде (bg) (navsjakăde)
• Dutch: passim (nl)

here and there

• Bulgarian: тук-там (bg) (tuk-tam)
• Dutch: passim (nl)
• French: passim (fr)
• German: passim (de)
• Greek: σποράδην (el) (sporádin)
• Japanese: あっちこっち (atchi kotchi)
• Latin: passim

Further reading

• “passim”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• sampis

Latin

Alternative forms

• passi (Late Latin, proscribed)

Etymology

Etymology tree

Latin pandō

Proto-Indo-European *-tim

Proto-Italic *-tim

Latin -tim

Latin passim

From pandō (“to spread out, to unfold”) + -tim.

Adverb

passim (not comparable)

1. everywhere

   Synonyms: ubique, quācumque

2. here and there, hither and thither; (at or to different places)
3. without distinction, without order, randomly

   Synonym: prōmiscē

4. mindlessly, without thinking about it

   Synonym: temere

Descendants

• → Dutch: passim
• → English: passim
• → French: passim
• → German: passim
• → Portuguese: passim
• → Romanian: passim
• → Spanish: passim

References

• “passim”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “passim”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• passim in Enrico Olivetti, editor (2003-2026), Dizionario Latino, Olivetti Media Communication
• "passim", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• “passim”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • far and wide; on all sides; everywhere: longe lateque, passim (e.g. fluere)
    

Romanian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Latin passim (“everywhere, here and there”).

Adverb

passim

1. passim

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Latin pandō

Proto-Indo-European *-tim

Proto-Italic *-tim

Latin -tim

Latin passimubor.

Spanish passim

Unadapted borrowing from Latin passim (“everywhere, here and there”).

Adverb

passim

1. passim

Further reading

• “passim”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025