Pace

(Lat. pa us ). In its modern acceptation, is the distance, when the legs are extended in walking, between the heel of one foot and that of the other. Among disciplined men the pace becomes one of constant length, and as such is of the utmost value in determining military movements, the relative distances of corps and men being fixed by the number of paces marched, and so on. The pace varies in different countries; in the United States it is 28 inches direct step, and 33 double step; in Great Britain 30 inches direct step, and 33 double step. With the Romans the pace had a different signification; the single extension of the legs was not with them a pace ( pa us ), but a step ( gradus ); their pace being the interval between the mark of a heel and the next mark of the same heel, or a double step. This pace was equivalent to 4.84 English feet.