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pave

[peyv]
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verb (used with object), paved, pav·ing.

to cover or lay (a road, walk, etc.) with concrete, stones, bricks, tiles, wood, or the like, so as to make a firm, level surface.

noun

Southern Louisiana. a paved road.

Idioms

    pave the way to/for, to prepare for and facilitate the entrance of; lead up to: His analysis of the college market paved the way for their entry into textbook publishing.

Origin of pave

1275–1325; Middle English paven < Middle French paver < Vulgar Latin *pavare, for Latin pavīre to beat, ram, tread down

pavé

[puh-vey, pav-ey; French pa-vey]

noun, plural pa·vés [puh-veyz, pav-eyz; French pa-vey] /pəˈveɪz, ˈpæv eɪz; French paˈveɪ/.

a pavement.
Jewelry. a setting of stones placed close together so as to show no metal between them.

adverb

Jewelry. in the manner of a pavé; as a pavé: diamonds set pavé.

adjective

Also pa·véd, pa·véed. being set pavé: pavé rubies.

Origin of pavé

1755–65; < French, past participle of paver. See pave
Related formsun·paved, adjectivewell-paved, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for pave

surface, tile, brick, gravel, tar, flagstone, cobblestone, macadamize

Examples from the Web for pave

Contemporary Examples of pave

Historical Examples of pave

  • It is your part to pave the way for this deception; mine to maintain it.

    Casanova's Homecoming

    Arthur Schnitzler

  • These are accomplishments which one and all will pave the way to make contempt impossible.

  • Above their heads screamed the shells which were to pave the way for their advance.

    The Traitors

    E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim

  • It was not—but why should I go on saying what it was not to pave the way to saying what it was?

  • We often see that evil succeeds by using that to pave the way.

    Broken Bread

    Thomas Champness

British Dictionary definitions for pave

pave

verb (tr)

to cover (a road, path, etc) with a firm surface suitable for travel, as with paving stones or concrete
to serve as the material for a pavement or other hard layerbricks paved the causeway
(often foll by with) to cover with a hard layer (of)shelves paved with marble
to prepare or make easier (esp in the phrase pave the way)to pave the way for future development
Derived Formspaver, noun

Word Origin for pave

C14: from Old French paver, from Latin pavīre to ram down

pavé

noun

a paved surface, esp an uneven one
a style of setting gems so closely that no metal shows
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for pave
v.

early 14c., "to cover (a street) with stones or other material," from Old French paver "to pave" (12c.), perhaps a back-formation from Old French pavement or else from Vulgar Latin *pavare, from Latin pavire "to beat, ram, tread down," from PIE *pau- "to cut, strike, stamp" (cf. Latin putare "to prune;" Greek paiein "to strike;" Lithuanian piauju "to cut," piuklas "saw"). Related: Paved; paving. The figurative sense of "make smooth" (as in pave the way) is attested from 1580s.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper