Quick Facts
- Plural:
- pagi
- Related Topics:
- Germanic peoples
- community
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pagus
administrative region
Also known as: pagi
pagus, among ancient Germanic peoples, a village community usually formed by a band of related people who would also form a military unit in tribal wars. A loose confederation of such groups formed the larger tribes. In medieval Europe the word came to denote a basic unit of land. It survives in the modern French pays and Italian paese, both meaning “country” or “district.”
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Kathleen Kuiper.
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