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Glite Dictionary
Roman pace

Roman pace

9.9
The distance of one full step from the heel to the same heel, about five feet
  • noun
translation icon : paso romano
  • Historians estimate that a Roman pace measured just under five English feet.

Examples

  • The soldiers were trained to march exactly one Roman pace between steps.

  • A distance of one thousand Roman paces was marked as a milestone along the ancient road.

  • The ancient road was measured in Roman paces.

  • A Roman pace is approximately 4.85 feet.

  • A distance of one thousand Roman paces was marked as a milestone along the ancient road.

  • Historians estimate that a Roman pace measured just under five English feet.

  • The soldiers were trained to march exactly one Roman pace between steps.

Synonyms

geometric pace
vsRoman pace
  • Specialized
9.9

A unit of length equal to five feet used for measuring land

is the slightly shorter original measure based on heel to heel at about 4.85 feet

Surface Forms

Roman pace singular
Roman paces plural

Morphology

Roman + pace

The meaning 'an ancient Roman unit of length' is directly derivable from combining 'Roman' (pertaining to Rome) with 'pace' (one step or the distance of one step). This is a regular modifier+noun composition denoting a type of step/measure and is cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would reasonably infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Roman pace comes from how Roman soldiers measured distance. A pace was the length from the heel of one foot to the next time that same heel hit the ground, and because soldiers used this step for marching and to mark roads, one Roman pace became a standard unit of about 4.85 feet, which is why the term means that specific old measure.