Path

[path, pahth] /pæθ, pɑθ/

noun, plural paths [path z, pahth z, paths, pahths] /pæðz, pɑðz, pæθs, pɑθs/ (Show IPA)
1.
a way beaten, formed, or trodden by the feet of persons or animals.
2.
a narrow walk or way:
a path through a garden; a bicycle path.
3.
a route, course, or track along which something moves:
the path of a hurricane.
4.
a course of action, conduct, or procedure:
the path of righteousness.
5.
Mathematics. a continuous curve that connects two or more points.
6.
Computers. the sequence of steps that a computer follows in carrying out a routine, as in storing and retrieving a file at a specific location.
Idioms
7.
cross one’s path, to encounter or meet unexpectedly:
Tragedy crossed our path again.
1.
variant of before a vowel:
pathosis.
1.
a combining form occurring in personal nouns corresponding to abstract nouns ending in -pathy, with the general sense “one practicing such a treatment” (osteopath) or “one suffering from such an ailment” (psychopath).
1.
.
2.
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/pɑːθ/
noun (pl) paths (pɑːðz)
1.
a road or way, esp a narrow trodden track
2.
a surfaced walk, as through a garden
3.
the course or direction in which something moves: the path of a whirlwind
4.
a course of conduct: the path of virtue
5.
(computing) the directions for reaching a particular file or directory, as traced hierarchically through each of the parent directories usually from the root; the file or directoryand all parent directories are separated from one another in the path by slashes
/pæθ/
abbreviation
1.
pathological
2.
pathology
combining form
1.
denoting a person suffering from a specified disease or disorder: neuropath
2.
denoting a practitioner of a particular method of treatment: osteopath
n.

Old English paþ, pæþ “path, track,” from West Germanic *patha- (cf. Old Frisian path, Middle Dutch pat, Dutch pad, Old High German pfad, German Pfad “path”), of unknown origin. The original initial -p- in a Germanic word is an etymological puzzle. Watkins says the word is “probably borrowed (? via Scythian) from Iranian *path-,” from PIE root *pent- “to tread, go, pass” (cf. Avestan patha “way;” see find (v.)), but this is too much of a stretch for OED and others. In Scotland and Northern England, commonly a steep ascent of a hill or in a road.

word-forming element used in modern formations to mean “one suffering from” (a disease or condition), from Greek -pathes, from pathos “suffering” (see pathos). Also “one versed in” (a certain type of treatment), in which cases it is a back-formation from -pathy in the related sense.

-path suff.

1. A bang path or explicitly routed Internet address; a node-by-node specification of a link between two machines.
2. pathname.
3. The list of directories the kernel (under Unix) or the command interpreter (under MS-DOS) searches for executables. It is stored as part of the environment in both operating systems.
Other, similar constructs abound under Unix; the C preprocessor, for example, uses such a search path to locate “#include” files.
[Jargon File]
(1996-11-21)
1.
Port Authority Trans-Hudson
2.
Program for Appropriate Technology in Health
1.
pathological
2.
pathology
see: