Origin: French suffix -age
Passage has 15 different meanings across 1 category:
the act of passing from one state or place to the next
"The sudden change in weather marked a distinct passage from winter into spring."
a section of text; particularly a section of medium length
"The teacher asked us to read aloud a short passage from Shakespeare's Hamlet during class."
a way through or along which someone or something may pass
"The explorers found an icy passage leading deep beneath the glacier's surface."
a short section of a musical composition
"The conductor signaled for the soloist to begin playing that haunting passage from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony."
a path or channel or duct through or along which something may pass
"the nasal passages"
the act of passing something to another person
"Please hold that package so I can complete the passage of it to the courier."
A paragraph or section of text or music with particular meaning.
"After warming up on the flat, the rider asked for an extended passage to showcase the mare's powerful suspension during the dressage test."
A movement in classical dressage, in which the horse performs a very collected, energetic, and elevated trot that has a longer period of suspension between each foot fall than a working trot.
In plain English: A passage is a section of text or a stretch of space that you move through.
"The narrow passage between the two buildings was too tight for a car to fit through."
Usage: Use passage to describe a specific, highly collected and energetic trot performed by a trained horse during classical dressage. Do not use this term for ordinary walking or running through a doorway or corridor.
To pass something, such as a pathogen or stem cell, through a host or medium
"The violinist paused for breath after executing a difficult high-pitched passage during the concerto's finale."
To execute a passage movement
In plain English: To pass through something from one side to the other.
"The boat will passage through the narrow channel at dawn."
Usage: As a verb, passage means to move from one place to another or to go through something, rather than performing a specific musical exercise. Use this word when describing the act of traveling across an area or transitioning into a new state.
Describing a bird that has left the nest, is living on its own, but is less than a year old. (commonly used in falconry)
"After spending three months in the wild, the young kestrel was finally marked as passage during our spring falconry check-up."
"The narrow passage between the rocks was too tight for anyone to squeeze through."
Usage: Use passage as an adjective specifically to describe young birds of prey that have fledged and are living independently but remain under one year old. This term is almost exclusively found in falconry contexts and should not be applied to other animals or general situations.
The word comes from Old French passage, which was borrowed into Middle English. It originally meant the act of passing or going through.