gap English · revision 5007

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=early 14th century|origins=non gap}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɡæp/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|gap]], gappe, [[bor|non|gap|t=chasm, empty space]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) related to gapa “to gape”,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) the source of [[gape]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) The Germanic verb is from [[ine-pro|*ghieh-|t=to yawn, be wide open]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An opening in a wall or hedge, a breach: the early 14th century in Etymonline and before 1325 in Barnhart,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) about 1380 in the OED;^(OED 1989) it appears in place-names from the mid-13th century (Grenehougap, 1261).^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A break between mountains, a pass, is from the late 14th century (1555 in the OED),^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and in the United States it is common in place-names for a deep pass, especially in the middle Appalachians.^(Etymonline) A breach in defences is from 1548, and ''to stand in the gap'', to defend, from 1535.^(OED 1989) The broader sense, an unfilled space or interval, is from about 1600.^(Etymonline) The verb, to notch, is from 1847, and to make a gap from 1893.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1261 – in place-names.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1380 – a breach in a wall or hedge.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1535 – ''stand in the gap''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1555 – a mountain pass.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1600 – an interval, a hiatus.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1847 – verb, to notch.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A space or opening between two things.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A period of time when something stops; a [[break]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A difference between two things or groups: ''the gap between rich and poor''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A pass through [[mountain]]s.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[gappy]]

+ * [[gapless]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[gape]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}