"path" meaning in Middle English

See path in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /paθ/, /paːθ/, /pɛθ/ Forms: pathes [plural], paath [alternative], paaþ [alternative], pathe [alternative], paththe [alternative], paþ [alternative], paþþe [alternative], pað [alternative, Early-Middle-English], peþ [alternative, Early-Middle-English]
Rhymes: -aθ Etymology: Inherited from Old English pæþ, from Proto-West Germanic *paþ, from Proto-Germanic *paþaz, from an Iranian language, from Proto-Iranian *pántaHh, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *pántaHs. The spellings paath and pathe and Scots paith prove that a pronunciation of this word with /aː/ existed; it presumably originated from open-syllable lengthening in inflected forms. Etymology templates: {{yesno||i|I}} I, {{glossary|Inherited}} Inherited, {{inh|enm|ang|pæþ|||g=|g2=|g3=|id=|lit=|nocat=|pos=|sc=|sort=|tr=|ts=}} Old English pæþ, {{inh+|enm|ang|pæþ}} Inherited from Old English pæþ, {{inh|enm|gmw-pro|*paþ}} Proto-West Germanic *paþ, {{inh|enm|gem-pro|*paþaz}} Proto-Germanic *paþaz, {{der|enm|ira}} Iranian, {{der|enm|ira-pro|*pántaHh}} Proto-Iranian *pántaHh, {{der|enm|iir-pro|*pántaHs}} Proto-Indo-Iranian *pántaHs, {{cog|sco|paith}} Scots paith Head templates: {{head|enm|noun|g=|g2=|g3=|head=|sort=}} path, {{enm-noun|pathes}} path (plural pathes)
  1. An informal or unpaved path or trail; a track.
    Sense id: en-path-enm-noun-By6YH0HX Categories (other): Human behaviour Disambiguation of Human behaviour: 43 10 13 13 22
  2. A choice or way of living; a doctrine.
    Sense id: en-path-enm-noun-rMEZV-jM
  3. (rare, Late Middle English) A course or route. Tags: Late-Middle-English, rare
    Sense id: en-path-enm-noun-8DZ-ia7u Categories (other): Late Middle English, Roads Disambiguation of Roads: 19 19 32 19 11
  4. (rare, Late Middle English) A vessel or vein. Tags: Late-Middle-English, rare
    Sense id: en-path-enm-noun-dBPdxCYi Categories (other): Late Middle English
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Derived forms: bypath, pathen, pathynge
Etymology number: 1

Verb

Head templates: {{head|enm|verb|altform=1}} path
  1. alternative form of pathen Tags: alt-of, alternative Alternative form of: pathen
    Sense id: en-path-enm-verb-JTKQF8sA Categories (other): Anatomy Disambiguation of Anatomy: 17 14 19 19 31
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 2

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

{
  "derived": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "bypath"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "pathen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0",
      "word": "pathynge"
    }
  ],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "English",
      "lang_code": "en",
      "word": "path"
    },
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      "lang": "Scots",
      "lang_code": "sco",
      "word": "peth"
    },
    {
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      "word": "paith"
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  "etymology_number": 1,
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      "expansion": "Inherited",
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        "4": "",
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        "id": "",
        "lit": "",
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        "ts": ""
      },
      "expansion": "Old English pæþ",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
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      "name": "der"
    },
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        "1": "sco",
        "2": "paith"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots paith",
      "name": "cog"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Inherited from Old English pæþ, from Proto-West Germanic *paþ, from Proto-Germanic *paþaz, from an Iranian language, from Proto-Iranian *pántaHh, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *pántaHs.\nThe spellings paath and pathe and Scots paith prove that a pronunciation of this word with /aː/ existed; it presumably originated from open-syllable lengthening in inflected forms.",
  "forms": [
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      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
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      "form": "paath",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
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    },
    {
      "form": "paaþ",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
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    },
    {
      "form": "pathe",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "paththe",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "paþ",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "paþþe",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "pað",
      "tags": [
        "alternative",
        "Early-Middle-English"
      ]
    },
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      "form": "peþ",
      "tags": [
        "alternative",
        "Early-Middle-English"
      ]
    }
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        "g": "",
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        "sort": ""
      },
      "expansion": "path",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "pathes"
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      "expansion": "path (plural pathes)",
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    }
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  "lang": "Middle English",
  "lang_code": "enm",
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  "senses": [
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      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "43 10 13 13 22",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "enm",
          "name": "Human behaviour",
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        "An informal or unpaved path or trail; a track."
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          "path",
          "path#English"
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          "trail"
        ]
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    {
      "glosses": [
        "A choice or way of living; a doctrine."
      ],
      "id": "en-path-enm-noun-rMEZV-jM",
      "links": [
        [
          "choice",
          "choice"
        ],
        [
          "doctrine",
          "doctrine"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Late Middle English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "19 19 32 19 11",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "enm",
          "name": "Roads",
          "orig": "enm:Roads",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A course or route."
      ],
      "id": "en-path-enm-noun-8DZ-ia7u",
      "links": [
        [
          "course",
          "course"
        ],
        [
          "route",
          "route"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(rare, Late Middle English) A course or route."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Late-Middle-English",
        "rare"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Late Middle English",
          "parents": [],
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        }
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        "A vessel or vein."
      ],
      "id": "en-path-enm-noun-dBPdxCYi",
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        [
          "vessel",
          "vessel"
        ],
        [
          "vein",
          "vein"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(rare, Late Middle English) A vessel or vein."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Late-Middle-English",
        "rare"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/paθ/"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/paːθ/"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/pɛθ/"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-aθ"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "open-syllable lengthening"
  ],
  "word": "path"
}

{
  "etymology_number": 2,
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
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        "2": "verb",
        "altform": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "path",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "Middle English",
  "lang_code": "enm",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "word": "pathen"
        }
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          "_dis": "17 14 19 19 31",
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      "links": [
        [
          "pathen",
          "pathen#Middle_English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "path"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "Middle English alternative forms",
    "Middle English entries with incorrect language header",
    "Middle English lemmas",
    "Middle English nouns",
    "Middle English terms derived from Iranian languages",
    "Middle English terms derived from Old English",
    "Middle English terms derived from Proto-Germanic",
    "Middle English terms derived from Proto-Indo-Iranian",
    "Middle English terms derived from Proto-Iranian",
    "Middle English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic",
    "Middle English terms inherited from Old English",
    "Middle English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic",
    "Middle English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic",
    "Pages with 2 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Rhymes:Middle English/aθ",
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    "enm:Anatomy",
    "enm:Human behaviour",
    "enm:Roads"
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  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "bypath"
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    {
      "word": "pathen"
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    {
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    }
  ],
  "descendants": [
    {
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      "lang_code": "en",
      "word": "path"
    },
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      "lang_code": "sco",
      "word": "peth"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Scots",
      "lang_code": "sco",
      "word": "paith"
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      "args": {
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        "id": "",
        "lit": "",
        "nocat": "",
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        "1": "sco",
        "2": "paith"
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      "name": "cog"
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        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "paththe",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "paþ",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "paþþe",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "pað",
      "tags": [
        "alternative",
        "Early-Middle-English"
      ]
    },
    {
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        "Early-Middle-English"
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      },
      "expansion": "path",
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      "name": "enm-noun"
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  "lang_code": "enm",
  "pos": "noun",
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      ],
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        [
          "path",
          "path#English"
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      ],
      "links": [
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          "choice",
          "choice"
        ],
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          "doctrine",
          "doctrine"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "Late Middle English",
        "Middle English terms with rare senses"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A course or route."
      ],
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        [
          "course",
          "course"
        ],
        [
          "route",
          "route"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(rare, Late Middle English) A course or route."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Late-Middle-English",
        "rare"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "Late Middle English",
        "Middle English terms with rare senses"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A vessel or vein."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "vessel",
          "vessel"
        ],
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        ]
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      "raw_glosses": [
        "(rare, Late Middle English) A vessel or vein."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Late-Middle-English",
        "rare"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/paθ/"
    },
    {
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    },
    {
      "ipa": "/pɛθ/"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-aθ"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "open-syllable lengthening"
  ],
  "word": "path"
}

{
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  "etymology_number": 2,
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      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "Middle English",
  "lang_code": "enm",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
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        {
          "word": "pathen"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "alternative form of pathen"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "pathen",
          "pathen#Middle_English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "path"
}

Download raw JSONL data for path meaning in Middle English (4.8kB)

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  "subsection": "",
  "title": "path",
  "trace": "<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html lang=\"en\">\n<meta charset=\"utf-8\">\n<title>Wikimedia Error</title>\n<style>\n* { margin: 0; padding: 0; }\nbody { background: #fff; font: 15px/1.6 sans-serif; color: #333; }\n.content { margin: 7% auto 0; padding: 2em 1em 1em; max-width: 640px; display: flex; flex-direction: row; flex-wrap: wrap; }\n.footer { clear: both; margin-top: 14%; border-top: 1px solid #e5e5e5; background: #f9f9f9; padding: 2em 0; font-size: 0.8em; text-align: center; }\nimg { margin: 0 2em 2em 0; }\na img { border: 0; }\nh1 { margin-top: 1em; font-size: 1.2em; }\n.content-text { flex: 1; }\np { margin: 0.7em 0 1em 0; }\na { color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; }\na:hover { text-decoration: underline; }\ncode { font-family: sans-serif; }\nsummary { font-weight: bold; cursor: pointer; }\ndetails[open] { background: #970302; color: #dfdedd; }\n.text-muted { color: #777; }\n@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {\n  a { color: #9e9eff; }\n  body { background: transparent; color: #ddd; }\n  .footer { border-top: 1px solid #444; background: #060606; }\n  #logo { filter: invert(1) hue-rotate(180deg); }\n  .text-muted { color: #888; }\n}\n</style>\n<meta name=\"color-scheme\" content=\"light dark\">\n<div class=\"content\" role=\"main\">\n<a href=\"https://www.wikimedia.org\"><img id=\"logo\" src=\"https://www.wikimedia.org/static/images/wmf-logo.png\" srcset=\"https://www.wikimedia.org/static/images/wmf-logo-2x.png 2x\" alt=\"Wikimedia\" width=\"135\" height=\"101\">\n</a>\n<div class=\"content-text\">\n<h1>Error</h1>\n\n<p>Your bot is making too many requests. Please reduce your request rate or contact bot-traffic@wikimedia.org (f263c81)</p>\n</div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"footer\"><p>If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below.</p><p class=\"text-muted\"><code>Request served via cp3073 cp3073, Varnish XID 463621559<br>Upstream caches: cp3073 int<br>Error: 429, Your bot is making too many requests. Please reduce your request rate or contact bot-traffic@wikimedia.org (f263c81) at Fri, 30 Jan 2026 11:40:58 GMT<br><details><summary>Sensitive client information</summary>IP address: 91.207.79.37</details></code></p>\n</div>\n</html>\n"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable Middle English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-02-01 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-01-01 using wiktextract (f492ef9 and 9905b1f). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.