Etymology Map
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Page

3 stages from Latin to English.

Today it means one side of a sheet of paper in a book, magazine or document

Where does the word "page" come from? It comes from Latin pagina, passing through Old French before entering English (1500s).

1
Stage 1 of 3
pagina
Latin · classical
"column, leaf"
from pangere 'to fasten'; first a column of writing on a papyrus scroll, then a leaf of a codex
2
Stage 2 of 3
page
Old French · 1200s
"page"
a side of a leaf of parchment (the boy servant 'page' is a separate word)
3
Stage 3 of 3
page
English · 1500s
"one side of a sheet"
leaves had long been numbered by hand, but printed page numbers only became common in the early 1500s
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Read the full story

Page’s story begins in Latin: pagina meant “column, leaf.” From pangere 'to fasten'; first a column of writing on a papyrus scroll, then a leaf of a codex. By 1200s, the word had taken hold in Old French as page. A side of a leaf of parchment (the boy servant 'page' is a separate word). It reached English by 1500s as page. Leaves had long been numbered by hand, but printed page numbers only became common in the early 1500s. Today, page means one side of a sheet of paper in a book, magazine or document.