pave
[peyv]
- 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.
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- Southern Louisiana. a paved road.
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- 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.
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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]
- a pavement.
- Jewelry. a setting of stones placed close together so as to show no metal between them.
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- Jewelry. in the manner of a pavé; as a pavé: diamonds set pavé.
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- Also pa·véd, pa·véed. being set pavé: pavé rubies.
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Origin of pavé
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for pave
Contemporary Examples
This is a time of transition, but I am excited to work with our team—both new and old alike—as we pave a new way forward.
Facebook Prince Purges The New Republic: Inside the Destruction of a 100-Year-Old MagazineLloyd Grove
December 5, 2014
Taylor Swift just used a calculated business decision, cloaked in artistic integrity, to pave the way for a digital music war.
Taylor Swift Dumps Spotify, Igniting Turf War Between Spotify and AppleDale Eisinger
November 4, 2014
In contrast, a successful outcome on the nuclear issue could pave the way for progress on other issues of concern with Iran.
Maybe the boys in France and Wales will pave the way for this change.
The first in the room, to knock down the door, to break down the barriers, to pave the road that we all walk on.
Historical Examples
It is your part to pave the way for this deception; mine to maintain it.
Casanova's HomecomingArthur Schnitzler
These are accomplishments which one and all will pave the way to make contempt impossible.
The Cavalry GeneralXenophon
Above their heads screamed the shells which were to pave the way for their advance.
The TraitorsE. 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?
The Romance Of Giovanni CalvottiDavid Christie Murray
We often see that evil succeeds by using that to pave the way.
Broken BreadThomas Champness
pave
- 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
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Word Origin
C14: from Old French paver, from Latin pavīre to ram down
pavé
- a paved surface, esp an uneven one
- a style of setting gems so closely that no metal shows
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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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper