Passed Pawn
A pawn with no opposing pawns in front of it on its own file or the adjacent files, giving it a clear path to promotion.
Passed pawns are especially dangerous in the endgame, where they can decide games outright if they cannot be stopped or captured before reaching the back rank.
Etymology
The name is an English participle meaning exactly what it says, and the 1842 definition makes the underlying image explicit: “a passed pawn is one that has passed all opposition and danger from the adverse pawns,” C. Pearson, Chess Exemplified (London, 1842). The word “pawn” itself is Middle English poune, from Old French peon “foot-soldier,” from Medieval Latin pedonem — so the phrase literally names a foot-soldier who has broken through the enemy line. The term is in Studies of Chess (London, 1803); Staunton's Handbook (1847) has whole endgame sections on “Passed Pawns”; and Nimzowitsch made “The Passed Pawn” the fourth of his eight elements of chess strategy.
First documented: 1803 — Studies of Chess (London, 1803)
Translations
Translations for this term haven't been added yet.