# path

> English word · Noun · IPA /pɑːθ/ · frequency rank #2,006

## Definitions
1. A trail for the use of, or worn by, pedestrians.
2. A course taken.
3. A metaphorical course or route; progress.
4. A method or direction of proceeding.
5. A Pagan tradition, for example witchcraft, Wicca, druidism, Heathenry.
6. A human-readable specification for a location within a hierarchical or tree-like structure, such as a file system or as part of a URL.
7. A sequence of vertices from one vertex to another using the arcs (edges). A path does not visit the same vertex more than once (unless it is a closed path, where only the first and the last vertex are the same).
8. A continuous map f from the unit interval I=[0,1] to a topological space X.
9. A slot available for allocation to a railway train over a given route in between other trains.

## Etymology
From Middle English path, peth, from Old English pæþ (“path, track”), from Proto-West Germanic *paþ, from Proto-Germanic *paþaz (“path”). The Proto-Germanic term is possibly borrowed from Iranian, from Proto-Iranian *pántaHh, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *pántaHs, from Proto-Indo-European *póntoh₁s, from the root *pent- (“to pass”), however this is disputed.
Cognates
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Paad, Pad (“path”), West Frisian paad (“path”), Dutch pad (“path”), German Pfad (“path”), German Low German Padd (“path”), Luxembourgish Pad (“path”). Indo-Iranian cognates could be Avestan 𐬞𐬀𐬧𐬙𐬃 (paṇtā̊, “way”), Old Persian 𐎱𐎰 (p-θ /⁠paθi⁠/)), Sanskrit पन्था (panthā, “path”). See also English find. Doublet of panth.

## Easily confused with
- **pt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/path-vs-pt)
- **put** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/path-vs-put)
- **pay** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/path-vs-pay)
- **pet** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/path-vs-pet)
- **pot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/path-vs-pot)
- **pit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/path-vs-pit)
- **paw** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/path-vs-paw)
- **PTS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/path-vs-pts)
- **pax** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/path-vs-pax)
- **PST** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/path-vs-pst)
- **PCT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/path-vs-pct)
- **Paz** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/path-vs-paz)
- **pau** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/path-vs-pau)
- **PTA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/path-vs-pta)
- **PTO** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/path-vs-pto)
- **PPT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/path-vs-ppt)
- **psh** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/path-vs-psh)
- **Paul** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/path-vs-paul)
- **push** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/path-vs-push)
- **puts** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/path-vs-puts)

## Common misspellings (6)
`apth`, `paht`, `pathh`, `patth`, `ppath`, `ptah`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/path