- The act or process of passing, especially:
- A movement from one place to another, as by going by, through, over, or across; transit or migration.
- The process of elapsing: the passage of time.
- The process of passing from one condition or stage to another; transition: the passage from childhood to adulthood.
- Enactment into law of a legislative measure.
- A journey, especially one by air or water: a rough passage on the stormy sea.
- The right to travel as a passenger, especially on a ship: book passage; pay for one's passage.
- The right, permission, or power to come and go freely: Only medical supply trucks were granted safe passage through enemy territory.
- A path, channel, or duct through, over, or along which something may pass: the nasal passages.
- A corridor. See synonyms at way.
- An occurrence or event: “Another encouraging passage took place . . . when heads of state . . . took note of the extraneous factors affecting their economies that are beyond their control” (Helen Kitchen).
- Something, such as an exchange of words or blows, that occurs between two persons: a passage at arms.
- A segment of a written work or speech: a celebrated passage from Shakespeare.
- Music. A segment of a composition, especially one that demonstrates the virtuousity of the composer or performer: a passage of exquisite beauty, played to perfection.
- A section of a painting or other piece of artwork; a detail.
- Physiology. An act of emptying, as of the bowels.
- Biology. The process of passing or maintaining a group of microorganisms or cells through a series of hosts or cultures.
- Obsolete. Death.
[Middle English, from Old French, from passer, to pass. See pass.]
pas·sage2 (păs'ĭj, pə-säzh')

n.
A slow cadenced trot in which the horse raises and returns to the ground first one diagonal pair of feet, then the other.
v., -saged, -sag·ing, -sag·es. v.intr.
To execute such a trot in dressage.
v.tr.To cause (a horse) to execute such a trot in dressage.
[French, from passager, to execute a passage, alteration (influenced by passer, to pass) of passéger, from Italian passeggiare, from passare, to pass, from Vulgar Latin *passāre, from Latin passus, step. See pace1.]


