passage (n.)

early 13c., "a road, a pathway;" c. 1300, "action of crossing from one place to another; a going over or through something; means of crossing," from Old French passage "mountain pass, passage" (11c.), from passer "to go by," from Vulgar Latin *passare "to step, walk, pass," from Latin passus "step, pace" (from PIE root *pete- "to spread"). Meaning "corridor in a building" is recorded from 1610s. Meaning "a portion of writing," originally one concerning a particular occurrence or matter, is from 1610s; of music, from 1670s.