city in Texas, named for the nearby pass where the Rio Grande emerges from the Rockies, Spanish, short for el paso del norte "the northern pass;" see pass (n.1).
Entries linking to el paso
pass n.1
"mountain defile," c. 1300, from Old French pas "step, track, passage," from Latin passus "step, pace" (from PIE root *pete- "to spread").
*pete-
*petə-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to spread."
It forms all or part of: compass; El Paso; expand; expanse; expansion; expansive; fathom; pace (n.); paella; pan (n.); pandiculation; pas; pass; passe; passim; passacaglia; passage; passenger; passport; paten; patent; patina; petal; spandrel; spawn.
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Greek petannynai "to spread out," petalon "a leaf," patane "plate, dish;" Old Norse faðmr "embrace, bosom," Old English fæðm "embrace, bosom, fathom," Old Saxon fathmos "the outstretched arms."