PASEO noun (pah-sey-oh)

noun

1. a slow, idle, or leisurely walk or stroll.
2. a public place or path designed for walking; promenade.
3. (especially in Spanish-speaking countries) a usually tree-lined thoroughfare; avenue.


Quotes

... the theme of every evening's conversation at the different houses, and in our afternoon's paseo upon the beach, was the ship ...
--*Richard Henry Dana,*Two Years Before the Mast, 1840


For the last two days in Ibarra, the foreigner has enjoyed easygoing Latina hospitality: a tour of the market where Celia's mother has a stall; a paseo to a small village hosting a bullfight, even the funeral of a family friend.
--*Kelley Aitken,*"Eating Cuy," Love in a Warm Climate, 1998



Origin

The Spanish noun paseo “a stroll” is a derivative of the verb pasear “take a walk,” itself a derivative of pasar “to come past, go past.” Pasar comes from an assumed Vulgar Latin verb passāre “to pass, go on, extend,” which is formed from Latin passus, the past participle of pandere “to unfold, extend, spread out.” The Latin noun passus “a step, pace,” also derived from pandere, is the ultimate source of pace, i.e., “a step,” and the verb pass. Paseo entered English in the 19th century.