space

I. noun Usage: often attributive Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French espace, space, from Latin spatium area, room, interval of space or time Date: 14th century 1. a period of time; also its duration 2. a. a limited extent in one, two, or three dimensions ; distance, area, volume b. an extent set apart or available <

parking space

> <

floor space

> c. the distance from other people or things that a person needs in order to remain comfortable <

invading my personal space

> 3. one of the degrees between or above or below the lines of a musical staff — compare line 4. a. a boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction <

infinite space and time

> b. physical space independent of what occupies it — called also absolute space 5. the region beyond the earth's atmosphere or beyond the solar system 6. a. a blank area separating words or lines b. material used to produce such blank area; especially a piece of type less than one en in width 7. a set of mathematical elements and especially of abstractions of all the points on a line, in a plane, or in physical space; especially a set of mathematical entities with a set of axioms of geometric character — compare metric space, topological space, vector space 8. a. linage b. broadcast time available especially to advertisers 9. accommodations on a public vehicle 10. a. the opportunity to assert or experience one's identity or needs freely b. an opportunity for privacy or time to oneself II. verb (spaced; spacing) Date: 1703 transitive verb to place at intervals or arrange with space between — often used with out intransitive verb to leave one or more blank spaces (as in a line of typing) • spacer noun