interstice
English edit
Etymology edit
From late Middle English interstice, from Old French interstice or directly from Latin interstitium (“a space between, gap, interval”), ultimately from intersistere (“to stand in between, to stop in the middle”), from inter- + sistere (“to stand, to stop”).[1][2]
Pronunciation edit
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ɪnˈtɜː.stɪs/
Audio (Southern England) (file)
- (General American) IPA(key): /ɪnˈtɚ.stəs/
Noun edit
interstice (plural interstices)
- A small opening or space between objects, especially adjacent objects or objects set closely together, as between cords in a rope or components of a multiconductor electrical cable or between atoms in a crystal.
- (figurative) A fragment of space.
- 2013 August 14, Simon Jenkins, “Gibraltar and the Falklands deny the logic of history”, in The Guardian[1], archived from the original on 10 August 2014:
- Relics of the British empire now mostly survive in the interstices of the global economy. They are the major winners from the fiscal haemorrhage that has resulted from financial globalisation.
- An interval of time required by the Roman Catholic Church between the attainment of different degrees of an order.
- (by extension) A small interval of time free to be spent on activities other than one's primary goal.
Quotations edit
- For quotations using this term, see Citations:interstice.
Synonyms edit
- (small opening or space between objects): chink, crack, cranny, crevice, fissure, gap, slit; see also Thesaurus:interspace or Thesaurus:hole
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Translations edit
small opening or space
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fragment of space
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Roman Catholicism: interval between attainment of different degrees of an order
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small interval of time
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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References edit
- ^ “interstice, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
- ^ “interstice”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.
Further reading edit
- “interstice”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “interstice”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
French edit
Etymology edit
From Latin interstitium.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
interstice m (plural interstices)
Derived terms edit
Further reading edit
- “interstice”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.