Paved

How to spell paved

5 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce paved

What does paved mean?

1. verbCovered a road, path, or area with a hard, durable surface such as asphalt, concrete, or stone.
2. verbCreated the conditions that allowed something to develop or happen, especially in the phrase 'paved the way'.

Paved in a sentence

• The council paved the muddy lane last summer.

• Her early research paved the way for a new treatment.

• Workers paved the driveway with smooth concrete.

• The merger paved the way for rapid expansion abroad.

Where does paved come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb pavire, which meant 'to beat down, to ram, or to tread firm', describing the act of pounding earth or stones until they made a hard, level surface. From that came the Old French paver, 'to lay a hard floor or road', which English adopted in the early 1300s as 'pave'. The original idea was less about the modern smooth tarmac and more about compacting and fitting stones tightly together, which is why old streets are 'cobbled' and 'paved' with set blocks. The same Latin root survives in 'pavement' and in the figurative phrase 'paved the way', meaning to make a smooth path for something to follow. The spelling is straightforward once you remember the silent final 'e' of 'pave' is dropped before adding '-ed'.

How the word is built

• pav- (from Latin pavire: to beat down, ram, tread firm)
• -ed (past tense/participle suffix)