'footpath' originates from Old English, specifically the words 'fōt' meaning 'foot' and 'pæþ' meaning 'path'.

'fōt' and 'pæþ' combined in Old English to form 'fōtpæþ', which eventually became the modern English word 'footpath'.

Initially, it meant 'a path for feet', and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.