How to use the word 'pace'

[megafunc]

Hello everyone,

I'm currently having some trouble trying to understand the word 'pace'. I encounter this word quite often, but I can't really make out the exact meaning that the word 'pace' is trying to express in the different examples.

1- On for a change of pace...
2- They set off at a leisurely pace.
3- He quickened his pace, having little reason to prolong the trip.

Could anyone clarify the exact meaning of 'pace' used in these sentences and give me some details? I would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[Piscean]

Definitions 3 and 4 here seems to fit.

[megafunc]

Still, I don't quite understand.

Could you please be so nice to point out each meaning of the word "pace" used in every sentence I mentioned in details?

[GoesStation]

The sentences in question:

1- On for a change of pace...
2- They set off at a leisurely pace.
3- He quickened his pace, having little reason to prolong the trip.

Sentences 2 and 3 use "pace" in one of its literal meanings: the speed with which someone moves, particularly when walking.

Sentence 1 uses a metaphorical meaning. A "change of pace" is a shift in subject matter, especially into or away from considering details. For example, a lecture might start with an overall discussion illustrating how the subject fits into a wider area of inquiry; it could then "change pace" by delving into the details.

[Charlie Bernstein]

Pace = rate of speed.

- a rapid pace
- a slow pace
- a leisurely pace
- a breakneck pace

The expression "change of pace" is an idiom. It's a switch to something different. For example, if you listened to jazz all day long, you might switch to opera in the evening for a change of pace.

[Lazz]

I can't really make out the exact meaning that the word 'pace' is trying to express in the different examples.

1- On for a change of pace...
2- They set off at a leisurely pace.
3- He quickened his pace, having little reason to prolong the trip.

Could anyone clarify the exact meaning of 'pace' used in these sentences and give me some details? I would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

When walking, each step that we take is "a pace" (and so, in days of yore, also commonly used as a rough measure of distance - e.g. two hundred paces). If we were out for a stroll, I imagine our pace would be liesurely. If we were in a rush and wished to speed our progress, then we would likely quicken our pace. A change of pace, therefore, would prosaically describe a variation in our style of step - fast or slow or even hop skip and jump - and has come to serve ably in other fields of performance other than walking, as Charlie Bernstein says (above), to describe a different direction in whatever that might be. It seems to often have relevance in fields of entertainment and education.

[emsr2d2]

If we were out for a stroll, I imagine our pace would be liesurely.

Lei​surely.

[Lazz]

Lei​surely.

Thank you.

[Rover_KE]

megafunc, I have only just become aware of this thread for some reason. I have moved it from Literature to Ask a Teacher, where it more properly belongs.