space

Etymology

From Middle English space, from Anglo-Norman space, variant of espace, espas et al., and spaze, variant of espace, from Latin spatium, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peh₂- (“to stretch, to pull”).

noun

1. (heading) Of time.
   1. (now rare, archaic) Free time; leisure, opportunity.
      In two days hence / The Judge of life and death aſcends his ſeat. / —This will afford him ſpace to reach the camp[…]. 1793, Henry Boyd, “The Royal Message”, in Poems, Dublin: Graisberry and Campbell, page 408
   2. A specific (specified) period of time.
      I pray you, sirs, to take some cheers the while I go for a moment's space to my poor afflicted child. 1893, Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman, Giles Corey
      The match was lost, though, in the space of just twenty minutes or so. 2007-10-20, Andy Bull, “We wozn't robbed!”, in The Guardian
      But their lead lasted just 10 minutes before Roman Pavlyuchenko and Jermain Defoe both headed home in the space of two minutes to wrestle back control. September 29, 2011, Jon Smith, “Tottenham 3-1 Shamrock Rovers”, in BBC Sport
   3. An undefined period of time (without qualifier, especially a short period); a while.
2. (heading) Unlimited or generalized extent, physical or otherwise.
   1. Distance between things.
      Which means that for every car there was 10 years ago, there are now 40. Which means - and this is my own, not totally scientific, calculation - that the space between cars on the roads in 1991 was roughly 39 car lengths, because today there is no space at all. 2001-11-03, Sam Wollaston, “Russian around”, in The Guardian
   2. Physical extent across two or three dimensions (sometimes for or to do something).
      They also wanted a larger garden and more space for home working. 2007-05-12, Dominic Bradbury, “Lost and found - an artist's voyage from city to country”, in The Guardian
   3. Physical extent in all directions, seen as an attribute of the universe (now usually considered as a part of space-time), or a mathematical model of this.
      Space is the Phantasme of a Thing existing without the Mind simply. 1656, Thomas Hobbes, Elements of Philosophy, section II
      These are not questions which can be decided by reference to our space intuitions, for our intuitions are confined to Euclidean space, and even there are insufficient, approximative. 1880 August, Popular Science
      The early results from Gravity Probe B, one of Nasa's most complicated satellites, confirmed yesterday 'to a precision of better than 1 per cent' the assertion Einstein made 90 years ago - that an object such as the Earth does indeed distort the fabric of space and time. 15 April 2007, Anushka Asthana, David Smith, The Observer
   4. The near-vacuum in which planets, stars and other celestial objects are situated; the universe beyond the earth's atmosphere.
      the first man in space
      The human race must colonise space within the next two centuries or it will become extinct, Stephen Hawking warned today. 2010-08-09, Stephen Hawking, quotee, “Stephen Hawking: mankind must colonise space or die out”, in The Guardian
   5. The physical and psychological area one needs within which to live or operate; personal freedom.
      Around the time of my parents' divorce, I learned that reading could also give me space. 1996, Linda Brodkey, Writing Permitted in Designated Areas Only
      I care about you Billy, whether you believe it or not; but right now I need my space. 2008, Jimmy Treigle, Walking on Water
3. (heading) A bounded or specific extent, physical or otherwise.
   1. A (chiefly empty) area or volume with set limits or boundaries.
      The street door was open, and we entered a narrow space with washing facilities, curtained off from the courtyard. 2000, Ziba Mir-Hosseini, Islam and Gender
      Converted from vast chambers beneath the old Bankside Power Station which once held a million gallons of oil, the new public areas consist of two large circular spaces for performances and film installations, plus a warren of smaller rooms. 2012-07-16, Charlotte Higgins, “Tate Modern unlocks Tanks – and introduces live art into mainstream”, in The Guardian
   2. (music) A position on the staff or stave bounded by lines.
      The note next above Sol is La; La, therefore, stands in the 2nd space; Si, on the 3rd line, &c. 1849, Guillaume Louis Bocquillon-Wilhem, translated by John Pyke Hullah, Wilhelm's Method of Teaching Singing
      The lines and spaces of the staff are named according to the first seven letters of the alphabet, that is, A B C D E F G. 1990, Sammy Nzioki, Music Time
   3. A gap in text between words, lines etc., or a digital character used to create such a gap.
      According to experts, a single line of text should rarely exceed about 50 characters (including letters and all the spaces between words). 1992, Sam H Ham, Environmental Interpretation
      It should be typed a space below the salutation : Dear Sir, Subject : Replacement of defective items. 2005, Dr BR Kishore, Dynamic Business Letter Writing
   4. (letterpress typography) A piece of metal type used to separate words, cast lower than other type so as not to take ink, especially one that is narrower than one en (compare quad).
      If it be only a Single Letter or two that drops, he thruſts the end of his Bodkin between every Letter of that Word, till he comes to a Space: and then perhaps by forcing thoſe Letters closer, he may have room to put in another Space or a Thin Space; which if he cannot do, and he finds the Space ſtand Looſe in the Form; he with the Point of his Bodkin picks the Space up and bows it a little; which bowing makes the Letters on each ſide of the Space keep their parallel diſtance; for by its Spring it thruſts the Letters that were cloſed with the end of the Bodkin to their adjunct Letters, that needed no cloſing. 1683, Joseph Moxon, Mechanick Exercises: Or, the Doctrine of Handy-Works. Applied to the art of Printing., volume 2, pages 240–1
      Horizontal spacing is further divided into multiples and fractions of the em. The multiples are called quads. The fractions are called spaces. 1979, Marshall Lee, Bookmaking, page 110
      Other larger spaces – known as quads – were used to space out lines. 2005, Phil Baines, Andrew Haslam, Type & Typography, 2nd edition, page 91
   5. A gap; an empty place.
      Mainstream Hollywood would not cater to the taste for sexual sensation, which left a space for B-movies, including noir. 2004, Harry M Benshoff, editor, Queer Cinéma
      A horizontal scar filled the space on her chest where her right breast used to be. 2009, Barbara L. Lev, From Pink to Green
   6. (geometry) A set of points, each of which is uniquely specified by a number (the dimensionality) of coordinates.
   7. (countable, mathematics) A generalized construct or set whose members have some property in common; typically there will be a geometric metaphor allowing these members to be viewed as "points". Often used with a restricting modifier describing the members (e.g. vector space), or indicating the inventor of the construct (e.g. Hilbert space).
      Functional analysis is best approached through a sound knowledge of Hilbert space theory.
   8. (countable, figurative) A field, area, or sphere of activity or endeavour.
      innovation in the browser space
      CNBC has shown a greater commitment to the crypto space than most other mainstream outlets, providing daily updates on bitcoin or other very large cryptocurrencies. 2019, Ryan Derousseau, The Everything Guide to Investing in Cryptocurrency[…], Simon and Schuster, page 269
      [T]hey became responsible for managing aspects of civilian labour in the medical space, and their roles were contrasted with those of the female physiotherapists in the hospital. 2020, Alexia Moncrieff, Expertise, Authority and Control, Cambridge University Press, page 187
   9. Anything analogous to a physical space in which one can interact, such as an online chat room.
      Communication in Internet chat spaces allows participants to communicate so freely in the relative safety of anonymity that they forget their privacy. 2007, Jacob van Kokswijk, Digital Ego: Social and Legal Aspects of Virtual Identity, page 88

verb

1. (obsolete, intransitive) To roam, walk, wander.
   But she as Fayes are wont, in priuie place / Did spend her dayes, and lov'd in forests wyld to space. 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, IV.ii
2. (transitive) To set some distance apart.
   Faye had spaced the pots at 8-inch intervals on the windowsill.
   The cities are evenly spaced.
3. To insert or utilise spaces in a written text.
   This paragraph seems badly spaced.
4. (transitive, science fiction) To eject into outer space, usually without a space suit.
   The captain spaced the traitors.
   Sound effect of blow with blunt instrument, groan, and the unmistakable cycling of an air lock—Castor: "Sorry, folks. My assistant has just spaced Mr. Rudolf. […]" 1952, Robert A. Heinlein, The Rolling Stones
   A lot of people make jokes about spacing somebody, about shoving somebody out an airlock. I don't think it's funny. Never will. 1995, J. Michael Straczynski, And Now for a Word (Babylon 5), season 2, episode 15, spoken by Dr. Stephen Franklin (Richard Biggs)
5. (intransitive, science fiction) To travel into and through outer space.
   He well remembered, when he was a junior officer, how the sight of a well dressed, impeccably neat commanding officer, no matter how long they had been spacing, maintained the enthusiasm, confidence and morale of the officers and men. 1947-01, Bernard I. Kahn, “Command”, in Astounding Science Fiction, volume 38, number 5