espace French · revision 16733

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1160–1174, Wace, Roman de Rou|origins=la spatium}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (Belgium, France): /ɛs.pas/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA: /ɛs.ˈpa.sə/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Canada): /ɛs.pɑɔ̯s/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Canada): /ɛs.pɑːs/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''espace''' ''m'' (plural espaces)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French ''espace'', ''spaze'' (about 1200); often feminine until the 16th century.^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|spatium|t=racecourse, arena; open space, extent; interval of time]], a word of obscure origin.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|12, 144b)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Compare [[oc|espaci]], [[es|espacio]] and [[it|spazio]].^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Wace (1160–74) uses it for a space of time, a duration, the commonest sense before the 16th century (''en l'espace d'un mois''): ''Pour avoir plus d'espace de leur chose arreer'' “to have more time to arrange their affairs”, says ''Berte'' (13th century).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ About 1200 it is the extent of a place (''lo spaze del cortil''), and, from 1314 (Henri de Mondeville) the distance between two points, an interval, whence ''d'espace en espace''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) In printing (1680) ''une espace'' kept the old feminine.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005) Du Bellay (mid-16th century) has ''le grand espace du ciel'', and Pascal (1662) the infinite expanse of the universe.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ It became a scientific term with Descartes (1647), the medium in which phenomena take place, and in geometry (1691).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The 20th century added ''espace vital'' (about 1938, adapted from German ''Lebensraum''), ''espace aérien'' (about 1960), ''espace vert'' and the sense “outer space”, as in ''conquête de l'espace''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1160–1174 – “Duration”, Wace.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1200 – ''Spaze'' “extent”.^(TLFi)

+ * 1314 – “Interval, distance”, Mondeville.^(TLFi)

+ * Mid-16th century – ''Le grand espace du ciel'', Du Bellay.^(TLFi)

+ * 1647 – A scientific term, Descartes.^(TLFi)

+ * 1662 – The expanse of the universe, Pascal.^(TLFi)

+ * 1680 – ''Une espace'' in printing.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * c. 1938 – ''Espace vital''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|space]], room: ''manquer d'espace''; a gap, interval: ''laisser un espace entre deux mots''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # An area, place: ''espace vert'', ''espace aérien'', ''espace de travail''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''(philosophy, science)'' Space, the medium in which things exist: ''l'espace et le temps'', ''(mathematics)'' ''espace vectoriel''.^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # Outer space: ''la conquête de l'espace''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''En l'espace de'': within the space of (a time).^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''(feminine, typography)'' A space between words or letters.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[espacer]]

+ * [[espacement]]

+ * [[spatial]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[spacieux]]

+ * [[la|spatium]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The Grand Robert and the Petit Robert give a separate numbered entry to the feminine ''espace'' of printers (1680), which kept the gender the word often had in Old French.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}