# passage

Pronunciation: say "PAS-ij" /ˈpæsɪd͡ʒ/

## Noun

1. A paragraph or section of written text or music that carries a particular meaning.
   - Simple: A short part of a book, story, or piece of music.
   - _She quoted a famous passage from the novel in her essay._
   - _The pianist struggled with a fast passage in the second movement._
2. A narrow way, such as a corridor or hall, connecting one part of a building to another.
   - Simple: A long, narrow space that connects rooms or leads from one place to another.
   - _A dark passage led from the kitchen to the servants' quarters._
   - _Visitors follow a winding passage through the castle to the main hall._
3. A portion of a route or journey from one point to another.
   - Simple: One part of a trip or route from one place to another.
   - _The ship's passage through the open ocean took nearly two weeks._
   - _We saved the steepest passage of the trail for the second day._
4. The act of passing: the movement of something across or through a space.
   - Simple: The act of moving across or through a place.
   - _The new tunnel eased the passage of traffic between the two cities._
   - _Customs officials controlled the passage of goods across the border._
5. The official approval of a bill or act by a legislature.
   - Simple: When a parliament or congress votes to approve a new law.
   - _The bill's passage required support from both chambers of the legislature._
   - _After heated debate, the passage of the reform act surprised many observers._
6. The advance or steady progression of time.
   - Simple: The way time moves forward, going by little by little.
   - _The passage of time had worn the inscription on the gravestone smooth._
   - _With the passage of the years, the village grew into a busy town._
7. The right or freedom to pass from one place to another.
   - Simple: Permission or the right to go from one place to another.
   - _The treaty guaranteed ships free passage through the strait._
   - _Soldiers granted the civilians passage out of the besieged city._
8. A particular incident or episode, often one among a series of events.
   - Simple: A single event or part of someone's life or story.
   - _The memoir recounts a painful passage from the author's childhood._
   - _Their friendship survived a stormy passage of misunderstandings and apologies._
9. A fee paid for traveling or being carried from one place to another, especially by ship.
   - Simple: The money you pay to travel somewhere, usually by ship.
   - _The family booked passage on a ship bound for the New World._
   - _He could not afford the passage and stayed behind at the port._
10. A strait or other narrow stretch of water connecting two larger bodies of water.
   - Simple: A narrow channel of water that ships can sail through.
   - _The captain guided the vessel through a treacherous passage between the islands._
   - _Fog reduced visibility as they entered the northern passage._
11. In caving, a long, narrow underground cavity carved out by water or created by rockfall.
   - Simple: A long, narrow underground tunnel made by water or by falling rocks.
   - _Cavers squeezed through a low passage that opened into a vast chamber._
   - _The flooded passage stretched for nearly a mile under the mountain._
12. A polite word for the vagina, the canal leading from the vulva to the cervix.
   - Simple: A polite word for the vagina.
   - _The midwife checked the passage for any tearing after the birth._
   - _Strong contractions pushed the baby down the passage._
15. A painting technique using tight brushwork to link objects across separate spatial planes, commonly seen in Cubist works.
   - Simple: A painting trick that uses careful brushwork to join objects in different parts of a picture.
   - _The artist used passage to blend the seated figure into the background._
   - _Critics praised the subtle passage linking the table and the wall in the still life._
16. The repeated transfer of a microorganism or cell line through successive hosts or culture media; serial passage.
   - Simple: Growing germs or cells again and again through a series of hosts to change or study them.
   - _After twenty rounds of passage, the virus had lost much of its virulence._
   - _Repeated passage in the lab weakened the bacterium considerably._
17. In classical dressage, a very collected, energetic, elevated trot with a longer moment of suspension between footfalls than a working trot. (pronounced: US say "pa-SAHZH" /pæˈsɑʒ/; UK say "PAS-ahzh" /ˈpasɑːʒ/)
   - Simple: A slow, high, bouncy trot in horse riding, with a long pause as each hoof lifts.
   - _The horse moved into a flawless passage across the arena._
   - _Judges scored her passage among the highest of the competition._
20. A two-player gambling game played with three dice, in which a player tries to throw a double higher than ten.
   - Simple: An old gambling game for two people using three dice, where you try to roll a double higher than ten.
   - _The two travelers wagered their last coins on a game of passage by the fire._
   - _He lost a month's wages at passage before the sun came up._

## Verb

14. To put something, such as a pathogen or stem cell, through a host or culture medium, typically to propagate it.
   - Simple: To move a germ or cell through a host or material, often to grow more of it.
   - _To passage the cells, the technician transfers them into fresh medium._
   - _Researchers passaged the virus through several cell cultures._
18. To perform the passage, the collected and elevated suspended trot of classical dressage. (pronounced: US say "pa-SAHZH" /pæˈsɑʒ/; UK say "PAS-ahzh" /ˈpasɑːʒ/)
   - Simple: To perform the slow, high, bouncy trot used in horse riding displays.
   - _The stallion passaged down the centerline to loud applause._
   - _With the lightest aid, the mare began to passage._

## Adjective

19. Of a bird: under a year old, having left the nest and living independently in the wild.
   - Simple: Describing a young wild bird under a year old that has left the nest and lives alone.
   - _The falconer preferred a passage hawk for its hunting experience._
   - _A passage falcon is often easier to train than a bird taken from the nest._

## Verb

13. To make a journey, especially by sea, from one place to another; to cross over water. *(rare)*
   - Simple: To travel across water, especially the sea, from one place to another.
   - _The crew prepared to passage the strait before the storm arrived._
   - _They passaged from Dover to Calais in rough seas._

## Origin

**Meanings 1–16, 19–20** — This word was borrowed into Middle English from Old French passage, which came from passer, meaning "to pass."
**Meanings 17–18** — This word comes from French passager, which in turn came from Italian passeggiare.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/passage (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).