This week’s theme
Toponyms

This week’s words
byzantine
erewhonian
Pearl Harbor
Delphic
Roman peace


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AWADmail 1096

Next week’s theme
Misleading words

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(ROH-muhn pees)

MEANING:

noun: A peace imposed and maintained by force.

ETYMOLOGY:

For Romans, peace was not an absence of war, rather a state in which the enemy was vanquished and could no longer resist. The term Roman peace is a loan translation of Latin pax Romana. The original pax Romana was the relative peace and stability in the Roman Empire from 27 BCE to 180 CE. Earliest documented use: 1884.

NOTES:

Roman peace is very different from Roman pace, which is the length of a double step or about 5 feet. Also, best not to confuse Roman peace with Roman pease or Roman peach, which are rare varieties of peas and peaches.

USAGE:

“There is a Roman peace, true, but it is a cruel peace if you ask me.”
Thomas Harlan; The Shadow of Ararat; Tom Doherty Associates; 2007.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: