gap

Etymology 1

From Middle English gap, gappe, from Old Norse gap (“an empty space, gap, chasm”), from gapa (“to gape, scream”), from Proto-Germanic *gapōną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₂- (“to open wide, gape”). Related to Danish gab (“an expanse, space, gap”), Old English ġeap (“open space, expanse”); compare English gape.

noun

1. An opening in anything made by breaking or parting.
   He made a gap in the fence by kicking at a weak spot.
2. An opening allowing passage or entrance.
   We can slip through that gap between the buildings.
3. An opening that implies a breach or defect.
   There is a gap between the roof and the gutter.
4. A vacant space or time.
   I have a gap in my schedule next Tuesday.
5. A hiatus, a pause in something which is otherwise continuous.
   I'm taking a gap.
   You must wait for a gap in the traffic before crossing the road.
6. A vacancy, deficit, absence, or lack.
   Their departure has left a gap in the workforce.
   Find words to fill the gaps in an incomplete sentence.
   She has a gap in her teeth. (see also gap-toothed)
   The yawning gap in neuroscientists’ understanding of their topic is in the intermediate scale of the brain’s anatomy. Science has a passable knowledge of how individual nerve cells, known as neurons, work. It also knows which visible lobes and ganglia of the brain do what. But how the neurons are organised in these lobes and ganglia remains obscure. Yet this is the level of organisation that does the actual thinking—and is, presumably, the seat of consciousness. 2013-08-03, “The machine of a new soul”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847
7. A mountain or hill pass.
   The exploring party went through the high gap in the mountains.
8. (Sussex) A sheltered area of coast between two cliffs (mostly restricted to place names).
   At Birling Gap we can stop and go have a picnic on the beach.
9. (baseball) The regions between the outfielders.
   Jones doubled through the gap.
10. (Australia, for a medical or pharmacy item) The shortfall between the amount the medical insurer will pay to the service provider and the scheduled fee for the item.
    Under bulk billing the patient does not pay a gap, and the medical practitioner receives 85% of the scheduled fee. 2008, Eileen Willis, Louise Reynolds, Helen Keleher, Understanding the Australian Health Care System, page 5
11. (Australia) (usually written as "the gap") The disparity between the indigenous and non-indigenous communities with regard to life expectancy, education, health, etc.
12. (genetics) An unsequenced region in a sequence alignment.

verb

1. (transitive) To notch, as a sword or knife.
2. (transitive) To make an opening in; to breach.
3. (transitive) To check the size of a gap.
   I gapped all the spark plugs in my car, but then realized I had used the wrong manual and had made them too small.
4. (New Zealand, slang) To leave suddenly.
   17 June 2020, “'They've just gapped it': Duo fled quarantine authorities after gang funeral”, in Newstalk ZB:

Etymology 2

noun

1. Alternative form of gup (elected head of a gewog in Bhutan)