Etymology
1. 1140, "freedom from civil disorder," from Anglo-Norm.
pes, from O.Fr.
pais (11c., Fr.
paix), from L.
pacem (nom.
pax) "treaty of peace, tranquility, absence of war" (cf. Prov.
patz, Sp.
paz, It.
pace), from PIE
*pak- "fasten," related to
pacisci "to covenant or agree" (see pact). Replaced O.E.
frið. Modern spelling is 1500s, reflecting vowel shift. Sense in
peace of mind is from c.1200. Used in various greetings from c.1300, from Biblical L.
pax, Gk.
eirene, which were used by translators to render Heb.
shalom, properly "safety, welfare, prosperity." Sense of "quiet" is attested by 1300; meaning "absence or cessation of war or hostility" is attested from 1297. As a type of hybrid tea rose (developed 1939 in France by Francois Meilland), so called from 1944. Native American
peace pipe is first recorded 1760.
Peacemaker is from 1436. Phrase
peace with honor first recorded 1607 (in "Coriolanus"). The
Peace Corps was set up March 1, 1962.
Peacenik is from 1965 (for suffix, see beatnik); an earlier equivalent was
peacemonger (1808).
2. From Middle English pees, pes, pais, borrowed from Anglo-Norman peis and Old French pais (“peace”), from Latin pāx (“peace”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ḱ- (“to fasten, stick, place”), related to Latin pacīscor (“agree, stipulate”), Latin pangō (“fasten, fix”); see pact. Doublet of pax. Displaced native Old English sibb, frēols, and broadly ousted friþ (modern frith). See: Latin '
pacīscor', Latin '
pangō'.
Verbs referencing "peace"
German, old spelling
fügen.