noun, plural pa·vés [puh–veyz, pav-eyz; French pa–vey] /pəˈveɪz, ˈpæv eɪz; French paˈveɪ/.
- a pavement.
- Jewelry. a setting of stones placed close together so as to show no metal between them.
adverb
- Jewelry. in the manner of a pavé; as a pavé: diamonds set pavé.
adjective
- Also pa·véd, pa·véed. being set pavé: pavé rubies.
adjective
- not covered in paving
verb (tr)
- to cover (a road, path, etc) with a firm surface suitable for travel, as with paving stones or concrete
- to serve as the material for a pavement or other hard layerbricks paved the causeway
- (often foll by with) to cover with a hard layer (of)shelves paved with marble
- to prepare or make easier (esp in the phrase pave the way)to pave the way for future development
noun
- a paved surface, esp an uneven one
- a style of setting gems so closely that no metal shows
adj.1530s, from un- (1) “not” + past participle of pave (v.). v.early 14c., “to cover (a street) with stones or other material,” from Old French paver “to pave” (12c.), perhaps a back-formation from Old French pavement or else from Vulgar Latin *pavare, from Latin pavire “to beat, ram, tread down,” from PIE *pau- “to cut, strike, stamp” (cf. Latin putare “to prune;” Greek paiein “to strike;” Lithuanian piauju “to cut,” piuklas “saw”). Related: Paved; paving. The figurative sense of “make smooth” (as in pave the way) is attested from 1580s.