Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

pathname
     
         (Or "path") The specification of a node (file or
        directory) in a {hierarchical file system}.  The path is
        usually specified by listing the nodes top-down, separating
        the directories by the {pathname separator} ("/" in {Unix},
        "\" in {MS-DOS}).
     
        A pathname may be an {absolute pathname} or a {relative
        pathname}.  The part of the pathname of a file after the last
        separator is called the {basename}.
     
        (1997-03-10)