It is written in unrhymed, alliterative verse divided into sections called "passus" (Latin for "step"). The English word "passive" derives from the Latin "passus". The poem is divided into "passus" ('steps'), the divisions between which vary by version. The word mile is from the Latin word for a thousand paces&colon; mille passus. Latin "non" "not" and "pas" comes from Latin "passus" "step". For example the "passus duriusculus".