space English · revision 3539

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1300|origins=la spatium}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /speɪs/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|space]], [[bor|fro|espace|t=period of time, distance, interval]] with its first syllable lost,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) which is a learned borrowing from [[la|spatium|t=room, area, distance, stretch of time]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) Etymonline calls the Latin word of unknown origin;^(Etymonline) Barnhart, after Frisk, and Klein connect it with Greek [[m|grc|σπάω|tr=spáō|t=to draw]] and [[ine-pro|*spē-|t=to draw, stretch]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966) It is related to [[spacious]] and [[spatial]].^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Lapse or extent of time between two points: before 1300;^(OED 1989) an area, extent or room to do something, probably before 1300 in ''Kyng Alisaunder'',^(Barnhart 1988) or about 1300.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Middle English the word was largely used of time, as in ''the space of an hour''.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) It meant a place from the early 14th century, distance between objects from the mid-14th, and extension in three dimensions from the late 14th.^(Etymonline) In printing, a blank type for separating words is from the 1670s.^(Etymonline) The expanse of the universe beyond the earth is recorded by 1723, perhaps already in ''Paradise Lost'' (1667), and became common in the 1890s.^(Etymonline) ''Spaceship'' is from 1894 and ''space age'' from 1946.^(Etymonline) The verb meant “to walk, pace” about 1400,^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) and “to arrange at set intervals” from 1703.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate) ''Space out'', “to be in a drug-induced euphoria”, is recorded by 1968.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1300 – an extent of time; an area.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * early 14th century – a place.^(Etymonline)

+ * mid-14th century – distance between objects.^(Etymonline)

+ * late 14th century – three-dimensional extension.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1670s – a printer's space.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1703 – verb, to arrange at intervals.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1723 – outer space.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1894 – ''spaceship''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1968 – ''space out''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The unlimited three-dimensional extent in which all matter exists.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # The expanse beyond the earth's [[atmosphere]]; outer space.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A blank or empty area, or the room available for something.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # A period or interval of time.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # A blank between words or lines in printing or writing.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(mathematics)'' A set of points satisfying given [[geometry|alt=geometric]] postulates.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To arrange with spaces between.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # ''(slang, space out)'' To be or become dazed, as from a drug.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[spacer]]

+ * [[spaced]]

+ * [[spaced-out]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[spacious]]

+ * [[spatial]]

+ * [[spaceship]]

+ * [[spacecraft]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Scotland, Yorkshire and the south-east of England, ''space'' meant to measure ground by pacing.^(Wright 1898)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}