passage
pass·age/ˈpæsɪd͡ʒ/noun, verb, adjective
passage is spelled P-A-S-S-A-G-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables (pass·age). It appears 19 times per million words in written English, the 4,521st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, passage means “A paragraph or section of text or music with particular meaning” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of passage is passages.
How many letters and syllables are in passage?
| Letters | 7: P-A-S-S-A-G-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: pass·age |
| In writing | 19 times per million words; the 4,521st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is passage?
Passage appears 19 times per million words in written English, the 4,521st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce passage?
- US /ˈpæsɪd͡ʒ/
- British /ˈpasɪd͡ʒ/
- Australia /ˈpæsəd͡ʒ/
As a noun (“A movement in classical dressage, in which the horse…”): /ˈpasɑːʒ/.
Passage has 2 syllables, split pass·age in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-passage.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of passage
- passages plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- passaging participle, present
- passaged participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does passage mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A paragraph or section of text or music with particular meaning.
passage of scripture
- 2
Part of a path or journey.
He made his passage through the trees carefully, mindful of the stickers.
- 3
An incident or episode.
- 4
The official approval of a bill or act by a parliament.
The company was one of the prime movers in lobbying for the passage of the act.
- 5
The advance of time.
- 6
The use of tight brushwork to link objects in separate spatial plains. Commonly seen in Cubist works.
- 7
A passageway or corridor.
- 8
A strait or other narrow waterway.
the Northwest Passage
- 9
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.
verb
- 1
To pass something, such as a pathogen or stem cell, through a host or medium.
He passaged the virus through a series of goats.
- 2
rareTo make a passage, especially by sea; to cross.
They passaged to America in 1902.
- 3
To execute a passage movement.
adjective
- 1
Of a bird: Less than a year old but living on its own, having left the nest.
Passage red-tailed hawks are preferred by falconers because these younger birds have not yet developed the adult behaviors which would make them more difficult to train.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Passage in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | passage |
| German | Passus , Passage |
| Portuguese | passagem, trecho , corredor |
| Spanish | pasaje , paso, pasada, pasamiento, recorrido, tránsito |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does passage come from?
Borrowed into Middle English from Old French passage, from passer (“to pass”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).