gapn.¹

Brit.

/ɡap/, U.S.

/ɡæp/

Forms: Also Middle English–1500s gappe, 1500s–1600s gapp.

Origin: A borrowing from early Scandinavian. Etymon: Norse gap.

Etymology: < Old Norse gap chasm (only in the mythological name Ginnunga-gap ), wide-mouthed outcry (Swedish gap , Danish gab open mouth, also opening, chasm); noun related to Old Norse and Swedish gapa , Danish gabe to gape v.

Any opening or breach in an otherwise continuous object; a chasm or hiatus.

a. A breach in a wall or hedge, as the result of violence or natural decay.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > an opening or aperture > [noun] > opening or break in continuity > in a wall, hedge, fence, dike, etc.

sharda1000

gapc1380

slopc1386

slapc1425

intermission1624

gap-stead1644

gool1664

gateway1707

break1725

smeuse1819

rent1879

c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 4989 So harde þay þrewe aȝen þe wal..And succh a gappe þay made þer-on.

c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 5164 To þe gappes [orig. draft holes] buþ þay come.

c1400 Rom. Rose 4023 Rise up..And stoppe sone and delyverly Alle the gappis of the hay.

c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 186/1 Gap of a walle, intervallum.

?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xlvii Or to fynde a gap or a sherde in his hedge.

1584 in J. Barmby Churchwardens' Accts. Pittington (1888) 16 For mendinge a gappe in the churchyard wall..ij d.

1604 Eng. Gilds (1870) 434 No man shall make yates or gapes in the common feild.

1666 J. Bunyan Grace Abounding ⁋54 I saw as it were a narrow gap like a little doorway in the wall.

1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 315. ¶14 Satan, after having long wandered upon the Surface, or outmost Wall of the Universe, discovers at last a wide Gap in it.

1821 P. B. Shelley Boat on Serchio 82 Those green harbours Farmers called gaps, and we schoolboys called arbours.

1843 C. J. Lever Jack Hinton xxii We came to a low stone wall, through a gap of which we passed.

figurative.a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) iii. iv. 32 I will..stop this gap of breath with fulsome dust.

†b. Phrase. to stop two gaps with one bush: ‘to kill two birds with one stone’, to accomplish two ends at once. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > carrying out > execute, perform, or carry out [verb (intransitive)] > accomplish two ends at once

to stop two gaps with one bush1546

to kill two birds with one stone1632

1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue ii. ix. sig. Fiv^v I will learne to stop two gaps with one bushe.

1638 R. Sanderson Serm. II. 97 This common usage of the phrase, as it well preserveth the sence, so doth it also (that I may stop two gaps with one bush) justifie the truth of this charge in my text.

†2. figurative.

a. An opening or breach by which entry may be effected or attack made; more rarely of a way of escape. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > safety > escape > [noun] > means of escape

posternc1475

outgatec1485

resorta1500

meuse1528

gap1548

evasiona1555

outscapea1555

way1574

outlet1625

subterfuge1761

bolting-hole1789

flighta1822

getaway1876

out1919

bolt-hole1932

the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > danger > [noun] > liability to harm, loss, etc. > vulnerable part, thing, or person

gap1548

weak link1581

subjecta1593

sitting1618

blota1657

soft spot1770

Achilles heel1839

sick man1853

soft underbelly1942

1548 in J. Strype Eccl. Memorials (1721) II. ii. App. Q. 56 Many good men..study to devise good laws..so..a great many..labour to defeat them: and as the common saying is to find gapps and starting holes.

1577 M. Hanmer tr. Bp. Eusebius in Aunc. Eccl. Hist. iv. ix. 61 Lest that thereby, men be troubled, & a gappe left open, to the malice of Sycophants.

1624 Sir R. Knightley in S. R. Gardiner Fortescue Papers (1871) 196 Which is interpreted a gapp for an escape if any can be made either by mischeife or money.

a1628 J. Preston Breast-plate of Faith (1631) 215 The standing still and not hastening to the gappe.

1723 D. Defoe Hist. Col. Jack (ed. 2) 338 Any Gap open, where we could have the least apprehensions of any Evil breaking out upon us.

1756 in J. H. Temple & G. Sheldon Hist. Northfield, Mass. (1875) 294 We humbly beg of you..to guard us in our husbandry..and that we may not be a gap open as in times past.

†b. esp. in phrases. to stand in the gap: to act as defender. to open a gap: to give access, afford passage or opportunity. to stop a gap: to close a breach, secure a weak point, prevent attack. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > defence > defend [verb (transitive)] > screen or shelter from attack

shadow1489

to stop a gap1535

shelter1667

to cover a siege1693

screen1870

the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement towards a thing, person, or position > move towards [verb (intransitive)] > give access

open1419

to open a gap1535

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Ezek. xiii. 5 They stonde not in the gappes, nether make they an hedge for the house of Israel.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Ezek. xxii. 30.

a1575 N. Harpsfield Treat. Divorce Henry VIII (1878) (modernized text) 273 So dangerous a matter it is to open once the gap to errors and heresies.

a1599 E. Spenser View State Ireland 21 in J. Ware Two Hist. Ireland (1633) Such a gapp of mischeife lyes open thereby, that I could wish it were well stopped.

1599 F. Thynne Animaduersions (1875) 5 To stoppe that gappe, I will answere, that Chaucers woorkes haue byn sithens printed twyce.

1631 W. Gouge Gods Three Arrowes i. §45. 77 When there is none to stand in the gap, how should his wrath be stayed?

1664 Keymer's Observ. Dutch Fishing in Phenix (1721) II. 225 To open the Gap of Traffick, and to make fulness of Trade.

c1680 W. Beveridge Serm. (1729) II. 116 As if it opened a gap to all manner of licentiousness.

1757 G. Washington Let. in Writings (1889) I. 508 The inhabitants see, and are convinced of this, which makes each family afraid of standing in the gap of danger.

†3. A gash or wound in the body. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > injury > [noun] > wound > cut

carfa1000

seamc1400

slapc1480

gap?a1500

gash1528

cut1530

scarification?1541

chopping1558

slash1580

slaughter1592

snip1600

hacka1610

sluice1648

?a1500 Lament. Virgin Mary in Chester Pl. (Shaks. Soc.) II. 208 To see my sone y have grete peyne, In hys breste so grete a gappe ys.

?1541 R. Copland Guy de Chauliac's Questyonary Cyrurgyens iv. sig. Niiij^v The .ix. place is vpon the eares & gappes of depe woundes.

1600 E. Fairfax tr. T. Tasso Godfrey of Bulloigne xi. xlv. 204 Through his right eie Clorindaes seu'nth shaft went, And in his necke broke forth a bloodie gap.

a. A notch; a small break or opening in an edge or surface. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > shape > unevenness > condition or fact of receding > [noun] > making or becoming notched > a notch

nick?a1450

gap1530

notch1555

natch1570

notching1640

nitch1726

snick1775

nicking1844

jog1845

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 224/1 Gappe in a knyfe, hoche.

1591 J. Harington tr. L. Ariosto Orlando Furioso xxxiii. lxxii. 273 They might a thousand times at hard-edg met, And neither blade thereby a gap would get.

1645 J. Howell Epistolæ Ho-elianæ vi. xiv. 27 The Jews..when they kill any creature,..cut the throat with a Knif without a gap.

1668 N. Culpeper & A. Cole tr. T. Bartholin Anat. (new ed.) Man. iv. vi. 342 There is observed in that place a Gap or Chink.

1833 J. Holland Treat. Manuf. Metal II. 257 The pinion of the axle..coming to the gap at D..sinks or rises in the slit.

1884 F. O. Bower & D. H. Scott tr. H. A. de Bary Compar. Anat. Phanerogams & Ferns 443 The passages are..short, and relatively broad, and may more properly be termed gaps or cavities.

†b. A notch or slit made in a swan's beak, as a private mark. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping birds > [noun] > keeping of swans > marking of swan > mark

swan-mark1550

gap1558

footmark1614

neb-marka1642

1558–9 Will of W. Yatles (Somerset Ho.) My swane mark of the twoo gappes and the Staple.

1656 in Lincs. Notes & Queries (1897) 5 92 One Swanne mark of the Gapp with the Penney cross in alt on the nere side.

a. A break or opening in a range of mountains; a pass or gorge (very common in U.S.).

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > land > landscape > low land > valley > [noun] > gorge or ravine

cloughc1330

heugha1400

straitc1400

gillc1440

gulfa1533

gull1553

gap1555

coomb1578

gullet1600

nick1606

goyle1617

gully1637

nullah1656

ravine1687

barrancaa1691

kloof1731

ravin1746

water gap1756

gorge1769

arroyo1777

quebrada1787

rambla1789

flume1792

linn1799

cañada1814

gulch1832

cañon1834

canyon1837

khud1837

couloir1855

draw1864

box canyon1869

sitch1888

tangi1901

opena1903

1555 R. Eden Two Viages into Guinea in tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 350^v Ouer the sayde byght, yow shall se a great gappe in the mountayne.

1709 J. Addison Tatler No. 161. ⁋8 Two great Gaps that led thro' this Circuit of Mountains.

1788 M. Cutler Jrnl. 6 Aug. in W. P. Cutler & J. P. Cutler Life, Jrnls. & Corr. M. Cutler (1888) I. 403 We passed the narrows or gaps of two ranges of high mountains.

1816 J. Bigelow in New Eng. Jrnl. Med. & Surg. 5 323 From this town a road has been cut, passing through a gap of the mountains to Portland.

1847 F. Parkman Calif. & Oregon Trail (1872) 180 We reached the gap, which was like a deep notch cut into the mountain-ridge.

1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Miner's Right II. xv. 63 An ugly lot to meet in one of those narrow rocky gaps, as they call them, over the line of ranges.

b. With defining word, as water gap (see water gap n. 1b); wind-gap (see quot. 1889).

ΚΠ

1779 D. Livermore in New Hampsh. Hist. Soc. Coll. (1850) VI. 314 This morning the troops..pass the Windgap, so called, for its being the only pass for a number of miles through a long chain of mountains.

1877 A. B. Sylvester Sk. North. N.Y. 60 A water-gap, forming a natural gateway through the mountains.

1889 J. D. Whitney United States 223 Gaps..in which the depression in the ridge is not sufficiently deep to give passage to a watercourse are known as ‘wind-gaps’.

c. local. (See quots.)

ΚΠ

1825 Brighton Commissioners' Act §62 Gap, a road or descent from cliffs to sea-shore.

1868 J. C. Atkinson Gloss. Cleveland Dial. Gap, an opening at the Bank-top through which a path or track winding up the steep Bank-side finds its way on to the open moor.

d. A hole or chasm in the ground.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > land > landscape > low land > hole or pit > [noun]

dalea800

piteOE

dike847

hollowc897

hole946

seathc950

delfOE

hollc1050

ditchc1275

lakec1320

holetc1380

slacka1500

dell1531

vault1535

pit-hole1583

delve1590

lough1672

sinusa1676

gap1696

self-lough1700

scoop1780

cup1819

1696 W. Whiston New Theory of Earth iv. 305 Its old Fissures were open'd..and sufficient Gaps made.

1841 C. Dickens Barnaby Rudge ii. 242 Great holes and gaps had worn into the soil..being now filled with water from the late rains.

a. An unfilled space or interval; a blank or deficiency; a break in continuity. Also, a disparity, inequality or imbalance; a break in deductive continuity; a (usually undesirable) difference in development, condition, understanding, etc.; in modern use frequently qualified by a preceding noun, as in credibility, dollar, generation, missile gap (see under the first elements). Cf. senses 6b, 7.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > place > absence > fact of being unoccupied > [noun] > an unoccupied space

vacuity?1541

vacuum1589

blanka1616

gapa1616

vacancy1652

space1654

evacuity1655

void1697

chasm1759

lacuna1872

null1887

the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > an opening or aperture > [noun] > opening or break in continuity

breakinga1300

breaka1400

interval1489

breach1530

gapa1616

discontinuity1676

puka1921

the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > continuity or uninterruptedness > discontinuity or interrupted condition > [noun] > a break in continuity

interruption1390

breach1589

hiatus1613

chasm1654

solution of continuity1654

gap1670

caesura1846

break-in1856

breakage1871

scission1884

time out1892

the world > relative properties > relationship > equality or equivalence > inequality > [noun] > an inequality

disparitya1682

gap1930

a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) iii. i. 12 If he had beene forgotten, It had bene as a gap in our great Feast.

1670 J. Milton Hist. Brit. ii. 33 Were it not for leaving an unsightly gap so neer to the beginning, I should have judg'd this labour..almost superfluous.

1675 J. Pynchon in I. Mather K. Philip's War (1862) 237 I could be heartily glad if we were able to spare some men, but..nine men out of this Towne..makes a great gap.

1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iii. vi. 213 In all the visible corporeal World, we see no Chasms, or Gaps..the descent is by easie steps, and a continued series of Things.

1753 S. Richardson Hist. Sir Charles Grandison I. ix. 51 In that long gap of time as he called it.

1771 N. Nicholls Corr. with Gray (1843) 126 I found the gap between Froissart and Comines, and longed for Monstrelet.

1853 H. Douglas Ess. Mil. Bridges (ed. 3) ii. 85 A part of the bridge projecting from each bank, and a gap in the middle.

1865 C. Kingsley Lett. (1878) II. 214 His death is to me a great sorrow—a gap in my life which I feel and cannot fill.

1874 A. H. Sayce Princ. Compar. Philol. vi. 236 There is no break, no sudden gap in nature; all follows in a regular unbroken order.

1892 Law Times 92 145/2 The gap on the walls caused by the removal of the portraits.

1930 Economist 13 Sept. 477/1 The widening gap between income and expenditure disclosed by the latest revenue return.

1940 Economist 30 Nov. 662/1 The ‘gap’ in the Budget is of the order of £2,000 millions a year.

1952 Sat. Rev. (U.S.) 20 Sept. 9/3 Gap ought to be removed from public speech, as in the dollar gap, the export gap, inflationary and deflationary gap.

1956 A. J. Ayer Probl. Knowl. ii. 80 They accept the existence of the gap between evidence and conclusion, but they hold that it can be bridged by a legitimate process of inductive reasoning.

1959 Times Lit. Suppl. 22 May 305/1 The Gap that has come to enjoy the dignity of capital letters, namely, the gap that has opened up in the past hundred years between men of science and students of the humanities.

1964 Philos. Rev. 73 165 (title) The Gap between ‘Is’ and ‘Should’.

1967 Nature 4 Mar. 851/1 The phenomenon which has become known as the technology gap is more a matter of management than of technology.

1968 Listener 29 Aug. 273/3 It's this imbalance which gives the Soviet Union such an advantage in its dealings with the West, and it's far more important than any ‘gap’ in technology or arms.

1969 Mind 78 27 He deals with the logical gap by jumping it.

1971 Nature 25 June 481/1 The ‘technology gap’—the supposed disparity between the United States and the rest of the industrialized world in the capacity to exploit advanced technology.

b. Phrases. to stop, to fill (in or up), to supply a gap: to make up a deficiency, supply a want, fill a vacant space. Also, to bridge (also close) a gap.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > supply > provide or supply [verb (intransitive)] > supply a deficiency

to stop, to fill (in or up), to supply a gap?1523

succenturiate1630

the world > relative properties > wholeness > completeness > make complete [verb (transitive)] > complete, fill up, or make up > by supplying what is wanting

performa1382

supplyc1480

upmake1485

to make up1488

mend?a1505

to stop, to fill (in or up), to supply a gap?1523

to eke out1596

help out (also through)1600

size1608

echea1616

inch out1620

to eke up1633

supplete1664

lengthen1670

supplement1749

to husband out1762

sort1880

piecenc1900

the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fact or action of being joined or joining > fact or action of being connected or connecting > be or become connected [verb (intransitive)] > connect to give continuity

to bridge (also close) a gap1879

?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xlix^v A woman can nat gete her lyueng honestly with spynnynge on the dystaffe, but it stoppeth a gappe.

1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VI f. clxxv All though thei daily lost people..yet their numbre was restored, and the gappe euer filled.

1655 E. Nicholas Nicholas Papers (1892) II. 222 He has already hindred 500^li..which would stop many a gapp now, it may be more then 2000^li will at another time.

1711 J. Swift Lett. (1767) III. 217 I make a present of it [money] to stop some gaps.

1776 F. Bull Let. 28 Oct. in J. Wilkes Corr. (1805) V. 85 I only mean to stop the gap for the present.

a1832 F. D. Maurice Moral & Metaphysical Philos. in Encycl. Metrop. (1845) II. 653/1 Theology would be..brought in to supply gaps in the system which philosophy had tried to construct.

1835 C. Thirlwall Hist. Greece I. v. 131 Invented merely to fill up a gap in chronology.

1879 J. A. Froude Cæsar xix. 311 He had a few levies with him to fill the gaps in the old legions.

1879 R. A. Proctor Pleasant Ways Sci. xiii. 326 The gap between the lowest savage and the highest ape is not easily bridged.

1927 Cherwell 25 June 238/1 A few days ago a London journalist was commenting..on the cleavage between..the Oxford Set and the young officers of the Guards... However, Mr. Drury Lowe is the one person..who has successfully bridged this gap, if gap there be.

1944 Ann. Reg. 1943 50 The production of coal..had fully kept pace with consumption and in fact somewhat exceeded it, so closing the previous ‘gap’ of eleven million tons annually.

1950 S. E. Toulmin Exam. Place of Reason in Ethics xv. 223 All his experience and wisdom are needed to bridge the gap between facts and values.

1957 BBC Handbk. 84 ‘Forces' Requests’..is an attempt to close the gap between National Servicemen all over the world and their families at home in Britain.

1961 Ann. Reg. 1960 500 Efforts to ‘bridge the gap’ between the Common Market and the European Free Trade Association continued.

†c. Used to render Latin hiatus. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

1706 A. Pope Corr. 22 Oct. (1956) I. 24 To come to the Hiatus, or Gap between two words.

d. Aeronautics. The vertical distance between the upper and lower wings of a biplane.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > parts of aircraft > [noun] > plane or aerofoil > wing > gap between upper and lower wings

gap1909

1909 Hazell's Annual 1910 487/2 Another tailless biplane is the Cody, the main planes of which have..a gap of 9 ft. in the centre.

1915 W. E. Dommett Aeroplanes & Airships 33 The gap between the planes, which are staggered, is 4 ft. 9 in.

1916 H. Barber Aeroplane Speaks 63 There will be..loss of efficiency unless the gap between the top and bottom surfaces is equal to not less than 1½ times the chord.

1936 B. Jones Elem. Pract. Aerodynam. vi. 99 Struts act as columns, and, if the gap is unduly big, the struts are excessively long and the structure is weak.

1949 J. W. Vale Aviation Mechanic's Aircraft Man. i. 25 The greater the gap, the smaller the interference of air flow between the upper and lower wing.

7. A breach or wide divergence in character or sympathies.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > relationship > difference > [noun] > gap, chasm, or interval

chasm1641

longo intervallo1759

interval1849

gap1857

1857 H. T. Buckle Hist. Civilisation Eng. I. vii. 458 Such is the great gap which separates the public men of our time from those who flourished under that bad system.

1876 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest V. xxiv. 495 There was..a gap between him and the mass of his flock and Clergy.

8. technical. (See quot. 1873 and cf. gap-bed lathe n. at Compounds 2.)

ΚΠ

1873 C. P. B. Shelley Workshop Appliances vi. 190 A gap is an expedient for..enabling a lathe to take in articles of much greater diameter..without materially increasing its weight or general dimensions.

Compounds

C1. General attributive.

gap-way n.

ΚΠ

1857 S. Osborn Quedah xix. 267 We swept through another gapway in the hills.

gap-stopper n.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > supply > [noun] > that which is supplied > that which supplies a deficiency > one who

gap-stopper1758

1758 J. Rutty Spiritual Diary (ed. 2) 115 The Lord honoured me with a post of being one of the three gap-stoppers on this occasion.

gap-filling n. and adj.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > supply > [noun] > action of providing or supplying > filling a deficiency

supplying1625–6

gap-filling1890

the mind > possession > supply > [adjective] > continuously > filling a deficiency

gap-filling1890

1890 W. James Princ. Psychol. I. ix. 265 All the rest..is internodal consciousness, giving us the sense of continuity, but having no significance apart from its mere gap-filling function.

1958 Times Lit. Suppl. 14 Mar. 142/1 Thinking appears in an obvious sense as an exercise in gap-filling.

1964 C. Dent Quantity Surv. by Computer vi. 81 The whole of the vocabulary for that trade in which the heading occurs is now read on to the drum, in readiness for the gap-filling subroutine which is to follow.

C2.

gap-bed n. the bed of a gap-bed lathe; a gap-bed lathe.

ΚΠ

1888 Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin. 157 Gap bed, a lathe bed having a portion recessed out in front of and below the headstock, to receive work larger in diameter than the height of the lathe centres, under ordinary conditions, will allow of.

1905 Daily Chron. 12 Sept. 1/3 (advt.) Lathe, 7 in. centres, 12 ft. gap bed.

1955 C. T. Bower Bk. of Lathe ii. 44 The gap bed is very popular with British lathe manufacturers, but it has never been thought desirable by American makers.

1955 C. T. Bower Bk. of Lathe ii. 45 General purpose lathes..can have gap beds so that they can swing the unexpected big jobs.

gap-bed lathe n. (see quot.).

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > equipment > machine tool > lathe > [noun] > with opening in bed

gap-lathe1879

break-lathe1883

gap-bed lathe1884

1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 375 Gap-bed lathe, one with an opening in the bed or shears to allow a larger object to be turned.

gap-bridge n. a bridge or piece of casting which closes the gap in a gap-bed lathe when not in use.

ΚΠ

1888 Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin. Gap bridge.

gap-hunter n. one who in riding to hounds makes for the gaps, instead of riding straight.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > hunting > hunter > [noun] > hunter on horseback

workman1832

bruiser1833

roadster1858

craner1863

gap-hunter1872

thruster1886

funkstick1889

1872 Daily News 26 Mar. Though a man..should hunt properly, a woman need not be ashamed of being a ‘gap-hunter’.

gap-lathe n. = gap-bed lathe n.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > equipment > machine tool > lathe > [noun] > with opening in bed

gap-lathe1879

break-lathe1883

gap-bed lathe1884

1879 Cassell's Techn. Educator (new ed.) IV. 280/3 Gap-lathes find employment chiefly in small work-shops.

1884 Internat. Health Exhib. Official Catal. 118/2 Powerful Double-geared Gap Lathe, self-acting and screw-cutting.

gap-net n. perh. obsolete a net placed across a gap (cf. gate-net n. at gate n.¹ Compounds 2).

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > hunting > equipment > trap or snare > [noun] > net > other nets

stalker1389

pocketc1425

hoop-net1481

hose-net1554

gap-net1727

bag-net1777

hoop1882

skim-neta1884

1727 P. Longueville Hermit 25 An Animal..whom he found taken in one of the Gap-nets.

gap-rope n. (see quot.).

ΚΠ

1883 Man. Seamanship for Boys' Training Ships Royal Navy 60 Foot-Line or Gap Rope is a rope's end rove through a block at the bowsprit cap, and bent to an eyelet-hole in the foot of the jib, or to the clew of the jib.

† gap-wide adj. Obsolete gaping wide open.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > [adjective] > wide open or gaping

yawningc893

wideOE

wide open?c1225

gap-wide1582

gaping1594

mouthed1609

patulous1616

wide-opened1635

dehiscent1649

discontinuous1667

patulent1712

hiant1800

yawn-mouthed1861

1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis ii. 28 Downe we beat oure rampiers, our towne wals gapwyd ar opned.

gap-window n. (see quot.).

ΚΠ

1874 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. I. 942/1 Gap-window, a long and narrow window.

Draft additions May 2001

gap year n. British a period of time (usually an academic year) taken by a student as a break from formal education, typically between leaving school and starting a university or college course, and often spent travelling or working.

ΚΠ

1978 Ampleforth Jrnl. Autumn 93 The GAP Organisation (the name from ‘the gap year’ between school and further study)..finds jobs abroad for British students before they embark on careers.

1994 Scotsman (Electronic ed.) 10 Aug. Most major employers, universities and colleges view a gap year as a good thing... Coopers & Lybrand, for instance, has funded a gap-year student at St Andrews University to teach English in the Baltic region.

2000 Independent 10 Aug. i. 4/4 (caption) Maya Oakley..spent her gap year in Australia.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1898; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	gap
释义	gapn.¹ Brit. /ɡap/, U.S. /ɡæp/ Forms: Also Middle English–1500s gappe, 1500s–1600s gapp. Origin: A borrowing from early Scandinavian. Etymon: Norse gap. Etymology: < Old Norse gap chasm (only in the mythological name Ginnunga-gap ), wide-mouthed outcry (Swedish gap , Danish gab open mouth, also opening, chasm); noun related to Old Norse and Swedish gapa , Danish gabe to gape v. Any opening or breach in an otherwise continuous object; a chasm or hiatus. 1. a. A breach in a wall or hedge, as the result of violence or natural decay. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > an opening or aperture > [noun] > opening or break in continuity > in a wall, hedge, fence, dike, etc. sharda1000 gapc1380 slopc1386 slapc1425 intermission1624 gap-stead1644 gool1664 gateway1707 break1725 smeuse1819 rent1879 c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 4989 So harde þay þrewe aȝen þe wal..And succh a gappe þay made þer-on. c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 5164 To þe gappes [orig. draft holes] buþ þay come. c1400 Rom. Rose 4023 Rise up..And stoppe sone and delyverly Alle the gappis of the hay. c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 186/1 Gap of a walle, intervallum. ?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xlvii Or to fynde a gap or a sherde in his hedge. 1584 in J. Barmby Churchwardens' Accts. Pittington (1888) 16 For mendinge a gappe in the churchyard wall..ij d. 1604 Eng. Gilds (1870) 434 No man shall make yates or gapes in the common feild. 1666 J. Bunyan Grace Abounding ⁋54 I saw as it were a narrow gap like a little doorway in the wall. 1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 315. ¶14 Satan, after having long wandered upon the Surface, or outmost Wall of the Universe, discovers at last a wide Gap in it. 1821 P. B. Shelley Boat on Serchio 82 Those green harbours Farmers called gaps, and we schoolboys called arbours. 1843 C. J. Lever Jack Hinton xxii We came to a low stone wall, through a gap of which we passed. figurative.a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) iii. iv. 32 I will..stop this gap of breath with fulsome dust. View more context for this quotation †b. Phrase. to stop two gaps with one bush: ‘to kill two birds with one stone’, to accomplish two ends at once. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > carrying out > execute, perform, or carry out [verb (intransitive)] > accomplish two ends at once to stop two gaps with one bush1546 to kill two birds with one stone1632 1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue ii. ix. sig. Fiv^v I will learne to stop two gaps with one bushe. 1638 R. Sanderson Serm. II. 97 This common usage of the phrase, as it well preserveth the sence, so doth it also (that I may stop two gaps with one bush) justifie the truth of this charge in my text. †2. figurative. a. An opening or breach by which entry may be effected or attack made; more rarely of a way of escape. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > safety > escape > [noun] > means of escape posternc1475 outgatec1485 resorta1500 meuse1528 gap1548 evasiona1555 outscapea1555 way1574 outlet1625 subterfuge1761 bolting-hole1789 flighta1822 getaway1876 out1919 bolt-hole1932 the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > danger > [noun] > liability to harm, loss, etc. > vulnerable part, thing, or person gap1548 weak link1581 subjecta1593 sitting1618 blota1657 soft spot1770 Achilles heel1839 sick man1853 soft underbelly1942 1548 in J. Strype Eccl. Memorials (1721) II. ii. App. Q. 56 Many good men..study to devise good laws..so..a great many..labour to defeat them: and as the common saying is to find gapps and starting holes. 1577 M. Hanmer tr. Bp. Eusebius in Aunc. Eccl. Hist. iv. ix. 61 Lest that thereby, men be troubled, & a gappe left open, to the malice of Sycophants. 1624 Sir R. Knightley in S. R. Gardiner Fortescue Papers (1871) 196 Which is interpreted a gapp for an escape if any can be made either by mischeife or money. a1628 J. Preston Breast-plate of Faith (1631) 215 The standing still and not hastening to the gappe. 1723 D. Defoe Hist. Col. Jack (ed. 2) 338 Any Gap open, where we could have the least apprehensions of any Evil breaking out upon us. 1756 in J. H. Temple & G. Sheldon Hist. Northfield, Mass. (1875) 294 We humbly beg of you..to guard us in our husbandry..and that we may not be a gap open as in times past. †b. esp. in phrases. to stand in the gap: to act as defender. to open a gap: to give access, afford passage or opportunity. to stop a gap: to close a breach, secure a weak point, prevent attack. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > defence > defend [verb (transitive)] > screen or shelter from attack shadow1489 to stop a gap1535 shelter1667 to cover a siege1693 screen1870 the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement towards a thing, person, or position > move towards [verb (intransitive)] > give access open1419 to open a gap1535 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Ezek. xiii. 5 They stonde not in the gappes, nether make they an hedge for the house of Israel. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Ezek. xxii. 30. a1575 N. Harpsfield Treat. Divorce Henry VIII (1878) (modernized text) 273 So dangerous a matter it is to open once the gap to errors and heresies. a1599 E. Spenser View State Ireland 21 in J. Ware Two Hist. Ireland (1633) Such a gapp of mischeife lyes open thereby, that I could wish it were well stopped. 1599 F. Thynne Animaduersions (1875) 5 To stoppe that gappe, I will answere, that Chaucers woorkes haue byn sithens printed twyce. 1631 W. Gouge Gods Three Arrowes i. §45. 77 When there is none to stand in the gap, how should his wrath be stayed? 1664 Keymer's Observ. Dutch Fishing in Phenix (1721) II. 225 To open the Gap of Traffick, and to make fulness of Trade. c1680 W. Beveridge Serm. (1729) II. 116 As if it opened a gap to all manner of licentiousness. 1757 G. Washington Let. in Writings (1889) I. 508 The inhabitants see, and are convinced of this, which makes each family afraid of standing in the gap of danger. †3. A gash or wound in the body. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > injury > [noun] > wound > cut carfa1000 seamc1400 slapc1480 gap?a1500 gash1528 cut1530 scarification?1541 chopping1558 slash1580 slaughter1592 snip1600 hacka1610 sluice1648 ?a1500 Lament. Virgin Mary in Chester Pl. (Shaks. Soc.) II. 208 To see my sone y have grete peyne, In hys breste so grete a gappe ys. ?1541 R. Copland Guy de Chauliac's Questyonary Cyrurgyens iv. sig. Niiij^v The .ix. place is vpon the eares & gappes of depe woundes. 1600 E. Fairfax tr. T. Tasso Godfrey of Bulloigne xi. xlv. 204 Through his right eie Clorindaes seu'nth shaft went, And in his necke broke forth a bloodie gap. 4. a. A notch; a small break or opening in an edge or surface. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > space > shape > unevenness > condition or fact of receding > [noun] > making or becoming notched > a notch nick?a1450 gap1530 notch1555 natch1570 notching1640 nitch1726 snick1775 nicking1844 jog1845 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 224/1 Gappe in a knyfe, hoche. 1591 J. Harington tr. L. Ariosto Orlando Furioso xxxiii. lxxii. 273 They might a thousand times at hard-edg met, And neither blade thereby a gap would get. 1645 J. Howell Epistolæ Ho-elianæ vi. xiv. 27 The Jews..when they kill any creature,..cut the throat with a Knif without a gap. 1668 N. Culpeper & A. Cole tr. T. Bartholin Anat. (new ed.) Man. iv. vi. 342 There is observed in that place a Gap or Chink. 1833 J. Holland Treat. Manuf. Metal II. 257 The pinion of the axle..coming to the gap at D..sinks or rises in the slit. 1884 F. O. Bower & D. H. Scott tr. H. A. de Bary Compar. Anat. Phanerogams & Ferns 443 The passages are..short, and relatively broad, and may more properly be termed gaps or cavities. †b. A notch or slit made in a swan's beak, as a private mark. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping birds > [noun] > keeping of swans > marking of swan > mark swan-mark1550 gap1558 footmark1614 neb-marka1642 1558–9 Will of W. Yatles (Somerset Ho.) My swane mark of the twoo gappes and the Staple. 1656 in Lincs. Notes & Queries (1897) 5 92 One Swanne mark of the Gapp with the Penney cross in alt on the nere side. 5. a. A break or opening in a range of mountains; a pass or gorge (very common in U.S.). ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > land > landscape > low land > valley > [noun] > gorge or ravine cloughc1330 heugha1400 straitc1400 gillc1440 gulfa1533 gull1553 gap1555 coomb1578 gullet1600 nick1606 goyle1617 gully1637 nullah1656 ravine1687 barrancaa1691 kloof1731 ravin1746 water gap1756 gorge1769 arroyo1777 quebrada1787 rambla1789 flume1792 linn1799 cañada1814 gulch1832 cañon1834 canyon1837 khud1837 couloir1855 draw1864 box canyon1869 sitch1888 tangi1901 opena1903 1555 R. Eden Two Viages into Guinea in tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 350^v Ouer the sayde byght, yow shall se a great gappe in the mountayne. 1709 J. Addison Tatler No. 161. ⁋8 Two great Gaps that led thro' this Circuit of Mountains. 1788 M. Cutler Jrnl. 6 Aug. in W. P. Cutler & J. P. Cutler Life, Jrnls. & Corr. M. Cutler (1888) I. 403 We passed the narrows or gaps of two ranges of high mountains. 1816 J. Bigelow in New Eng. Jrnl. Med. & Surg. 5 323 From this town a road has been cut, passing through a gap of the mountains to Portland. 1847 F. Parkman Calif. & Oregon Trail (1872) 180 We reached the gap, which was like a deep notch cut into the mountain-ridge. 1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Miner's Right II. xv. 63 An ugly lot to meet in one of those narrow rocky gaps, as they call them, over the line of ranges. b. With defining word, as water gap (see water gap n. 1b); wind-gap (see quot. 1889). ΚΠ 1779 D. Livermore in New Hampsh. Hist. Soc. Coll. (1850) VI. 314 This morning the troops..pass the Windgap, so called, for its being the only pass for a number of miles through a long chain of mountains. 1877 A. B. Sylvester Sk. North. N.Y. 60 A water-gap, forming a natural gateway through the mountains. 1889 J. D. Whitney United States 223 Gaps..in which the depression in the ridge is not sufficiently deep to give passage to a watercourse are known as ‘wind-gaps’. c. local. (See quots.) ΚΠ 1825 Brighton Commissioners' Act §62 Gap, a road or descent from cliffs to sea-shore. 1868 J. C. Atkinson Gloss. Cleveland Dial. Gap, an opening at the Bank-top through which a path or track winding up the steep Bank-side finds its way on to the open moor. d. A hole or chasm in the ground. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > land > landscape > low land > hole or pit > [noun] dalea800 piteOE dike847 hollowc897 hole946 seathc950 delfOE hollc1050 ditchc1275 lakec1320 holetc1380 slacka1500 dell1531 vault1535 pit-hole1583 delve1590 lough1672 sinusa1676 gap1696 self-lough1700 scoop1780 cup1819 1696 W. Whiston New Theory of Earth iv. 305 Its old Fissures were open'd..and sufficient Gaps made. 1841 C. Dickens Barnaby Rudge ii. 242 Great holes and gaps had worn into the soil..being now filled with water from the late rains. 6. a. An unfilled space or interval; a blank or deficiency; a break in continuity. Also, a disparity, inequality or imbalance; a break in deductive continuity; a (usually undesirable) difference in development, condition, understanding, etc.; in modern use frequently qualified by a preceding noun, as in credibility, dollar, generation, missile gap (see under the first elements). Cf. senses 6b, 7. ΘΚΠ the world > space > place > absence > fact of being unoccupied > [noun] > an unoccupied space vacuity?1541 vacuum1589 blanka1616 gapa1616 vacancy1652 space1654 evacuity1655 void1697 chasm1759 lacuna1872 null1887 the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > an opening or aperture > [noun] > opening or break in continuity breakinga1300 breaka1400 interval1489 breach1530 gapa1616 discontinuity1676 puka1921 the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > continuity or uninterruptedness > discontinuity or interrupted condition > [noun] > a break in continuity interruption1390 breach1589 hiatus1613 chasm1654 solution of continuity1654 gap1670 caesura1846 break-in1856 breakage1871 scission1884 time out1892 the world > relative properties > relationship > equality or equivalence > inequality > [noun] > an inequality disparitya1682 gap1930 a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) iii. i. 12 If he had beene forgotten, It had bene as a gap in our great Feast. View more context for this quotation 1670 J. Milton Hist. Brit. ii. 33 Were it not for leaving an unsightly gap so neer to the beginning, I should have judg'd this labour..almost superfluous. 1675 J. Pynchon in I. Mather K. Philip's War (1862) 237 I could be heartily glad if we were able to spare some men, but..nine men out of this Towne..makes a great gap. 1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iii. vi. 213 In all the visible corporeal World, we see no Chasms, or Gaps..the descent is by easie steps, and a continued series of Things. 1753 S. Richardson Hist. Sir Charles Grandison I. ix. 51 In that long gap of time as he called it. 1771 N. Nicholls Corr. with Gray (1843) 126 I found the gap between Froissart and Comines, and longed for Monstrelet. 1853 H. Douglas Ess. Mil. Bridges (ed. 3) ii. 85 A part of the bridge projecting from each bank, and a gap in the middle. 1865 C. Kingsley Lett. (1878) II. 214 His death is to me a great sorrow—a gap in my life which I feel and cannot fill. 1874 A. H. Sayce Princ. Compar. Philol. vi. 236 There is no break, no sudden gap in nature; all follows in a regular unbroken order. 1892 Law Times 92 145/2 The gap on the walls caused by the removal of the portraits. 1930 Economist 13 Sept. 477/1 The widening gap between income and expenditure disclosed by the latest revenue return. 1940 Economist 30 Nov. 662/1 The ‘gap’ in the Budget is of the order of £2,000 millions a year. 1952 Sat. Rev. (U.S.) 20 Sept. 9/3 Gap ought to be removed from public speech, as in the dollar gap, the export gap, inflationary and deflationary gap. 1956 A. J. Ayer Probl. Knowl. ii. 80 They accept the existence of the gap between evidence and conclusion, but they hold that it can be bridged by a legitimate process of inductive reasoning. 1959 Times Lit. Suppl. 22 May 305/1 The Gap that has come to enjoy the dignity of capital letters, namely, the gap that has opened up in the past hundred years between men of science and students of the humanities. 1964 Philos. Rev. 73 165 (title) The Gap between ‘Is’ and ‘Should’. 1967 Nature 4 Mar. 851/1 The phenomenon which has become known as the technology gap is more a matter of management than of technology. 1968 Listener 29 Aug. 273/3 It's this imbalance which gives the Soviet Union such an advantage in its dealings with the West, and it's far more important than any ‘gap’ in technology or arms. 1969 Mind 78 27 He deals with the logical gap by jumping it. 1971 Nature 25 June 481/1 The ‘technology gap’—the supposed disparity between the United States and the rest of the industrialized world in the capacity to exploit advanced technology. b. Phrases. to stop, to fill (in or up), to supply a gap: to make up a deficiency, supply a want, fill a vacant space. Also, to bridge (also close) a gap. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > supply > provide or supply [verb (intransitive)] > supply a deficiency to stop, to fill (in or up), to supply a gap?1523 succenturiate1630 the world > relative properties > wholeness > completeness > make complete [verb (transitive)] > complete, fill up, or make up > by supplying what is wanting performa1382 supplyc1480 upmake1485 to make up1488 mend?a1505 to stop, to fill (in or up), to supply a gap?1523 to eke out1596 help out (also through)1600 size1608 echea1616 inch out1620 to eke up1633 supplete1664 lengthen1670 supplement1749 to husband out1762 sort1880 piecenc1900 the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fact or action of being joined or joining > fact or action of being connected or connecting > be or become connected [verb (intransitive)] > connect to give continuity to bridge (also close) a gap1879 ?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xlix^v A woman can nat gete her lyueng honestly with spynnynge on the dystaffe, but it stoppeth a gappe. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VI f. clxxv All though thei daily lost people..yet their numbre was restored, and the gappe euer filled. 1655 E. Nicholas Nicholas Papers (1892) II. 222 He has already hindred 500^li..which would stop many a gapp now, it may be more then 2000^li will at another time. 1711 J. Swift Lett. (1767) III. 217 I make a present of it [money] to stop some gaps. 1776 F. Bull Let. 28 Oct. in J. Wilkes Corr. (1805) V. 85 I only mean to stop the gap for the present. a1832 F. D. Maurice Moral & Metaphysical Philos. in Encycl. Metrop. (1845) II. 653/1 Theology would be..brought in to supply gaps in the system which philosophy had tried to construct. 1835 C. Thirlwall Hist. Greece I. v. 131 Invented merely to fill up a gap in chronology. 1879 J. A. Froude Cæsar xix. 311 He had a few levies with him to fill the gaps in the old legions. 1879 R. A. Proctor Pleasant Ways Sci. xiii. 326 The gap between the lowest savage and the highest ape is not easily bridged. 1927 Cherwell 25 June 238/1 A few days ago a London journalist was commenting..on the cleavage between..the Oxford Set and the young officers of the Guards... However, Mr. Drury Lowe is the one person..who has successfully bridged this gap, if gap there be. 1944 Ann. Reg. 1943 50 The production of coal..had fully kept pace with consumption and in fact somewhat exceeded it, so closing the previous ‘gap’ of eleven million tons annually. 1950 S. E. Toulmin Exam. Place of Reason in Ethics xv. 223 All his experience and wisdom are needed to bridge the gap between facts and values. 1957 BBC Handbk. 84 ‘Forces' Requests’..is an attempt to close the gap between National Servicemen all over the world and their families at home in Britain. 1961 Ann. Reg. 1960 500 Efforts to ‘bridge the gap’ between the Common Market and the European Free Trade Association continued. †c. Used to render Latin hiatus. Obsolete. ΚΠ 1706 A. Pope Corr. 22 Oct. (1956) I. 24 To come to the Hiatus, or Gap between two words. d. Aeronautics. The vertical distance between the upper and lower wings of a biplane. ΘΚΠ society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > parts of aircraft > [noun] > plane or aerofoil > wing > gap between upper and lower wings gap1909 1909 Hazell's Annual 1910 487/2 Another tailless biplane is the Cody, the main planes of which have..a gap of 9 ft. in the centre. 1915 W. E. Dommett Aeroplanes & Airships 33 The gap between the planes, which are staggered, is 4 ft. 9 in. 1916 H. Barber Aeroplane Speaks 63 There will be..loss of efficiency unless the gap between the top and bottom surfaces is equal to not less than 1½ times the chord. 1936 B. Jones Elem. Pract. Aerodynam. vi. 99 Struts act as columns, and, if the gap is unduly big, the struts are excessively long and the structure is weak. 1949 J. W. Vale Aviation Mechanic's Aircraft Man. i. 25 The greater the gap, the smaller the interference of air flow between the upper and lower wing. 7. A breach or wide divergence in character or sympathies. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > relationship > difference > [noun] > gap, chasm, or interval chasm1641 longo intervallo1759 interval1849 gap1857 1857 H. T. Buckle Hist. Civilisation Eng. I. vii. 458 Such is the great gap which separates the public men of our time from those who flourished under that bad system. 1876 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest V. xxiv. 495 There was..a gap between him and the mass of his flock and Clergy. 8. technical. (See quot. 1873 and cf. gap-bed lathe n. at Compounds 2.) ΚΠ 1873 C. P. B. Shelley Workshop Appliances vi. 190 A gap is an expedient for..enabling a lathe to take in articles of much greater diameter..without materially increasing its weight or general dimensions. Compounds C1. General attributive. a. gap-way n. ΚΠ 1857 S. Osborn Quedah xix. 267 We swept through another gapway in the hills. b. gap-stopper n. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > supply > [noun] > that which is supplied > that which supplies a deficiency > one who gap-stopper1758 1758 J. Rutty Spiritual Diary (ed. 2) 115 The Lord honoured me with a post of being one of the three gap-stoppers on this occasion. c. gap-filling n. and adj. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > supply > [noun] > action of providing or supplying > filling a deficiency supplying1625–6 gap-filling1890 the mind > possession > supply > [adjective] > continuously > filling a deficiency gap-filling1890 1890 W. James Princ. Psychol. I. ix. 265 All the rest..is internodal consciousness, giving us the sense of continuity, but having no significance apart from its mere gap-filling function. 1958 Times Lit. Suppl. 14 Mar. 142/1 Thinking appears in an obvious sense as an exercise in gap-filling. 1964 C. Dent Quantity Surv. by Computer vi. 81 The whole of the vocabulary for that trade in which the heading occurs is now read on to the drum, in readiness for the gap-filling subroutine which is to follow. C2. gap-bed n. the bed of a gap-bed lathe; a gap-bed lathe. ΚΠ 1888 Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin. 157 Gap bed, a lathe bed having a portion recessed out in front of and below the headstock, to receive work larger in diameter than the height of the lathe centres, under ordinary conditions, will allow of. 1905 Daily Chron. 12 Sept. 1/3 (advt.) Lathe, 7 in. centres, 12 ft. gap bed. 1955 C. T. Bower Bk. of Lathe ii. 44 The gap bed is very popular with British lathe manufacturers, but it has never been thought desirable by American makers. 1955 C. T. Bower Bk. of Lathe ii. 45 General purpose lathes..can have gap beds so that they can swing the unexpected big jobs. gap-bed lathe n. (see quot.). ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > equipment > machine tool > lathe > [noun] > with opening in bed gap-lathe1879 break-lathe1883 gap-bed lathe1884 1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 375 Gap-bed lathe, one with an opening in the bed or shears to allow a larger object to be turned. gap-bridge n. a bridge or piece of casting which closes the gap in a gap-bed lathe when not in use. ΚΠ 1888 Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin. Gap bridge. gap-hunter n. one who in riding to hounds makes for the gaps, instead of riding straight. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > hunting > hunter > [noun] > hunter on horseback workman1832 bruiser1833 roadster1858 craner1863 gap-hunter1872 thruster1886 funkstick1889 1872 Daily News 26 Mar. Though a man..should hunt properly, a woman need not be ashamed of being a ‘gap-hunter’. gap-lathe n. = gap-bed lathe n. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > equipment > machine tool > lathe > [noun] > with opening in bed gap-lathe1879 break-lathe1883 gap-bed lathe1884 1879 Cassell's Techn. Educator (new ed.) IV. 280/3 Gap-lathes find employment chiefly in small work-shops. 1884 Internat. Health Exhib. Official Catal. 118/2 Powerful Double-geared Gap Lathe, self-acting and screw-cutting. gap-net n. perh. obsolete a net placed across a gap (cf. gate-net n. at gate n.¹ Compounds 2). ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > hunting > equipment > trap or snare > [noun] > net > other nets stalker1389 pocketc1425 hoop-net1481 hose-net1554 gap-net1727 bag-net1777 hoop1882 skim-neta1884 1727 P. Longueville Hermit 25 An Animal..whom he found taken in one of the Gap-nets. gap-rope n. (see quot.). ΚΠ 1883 Man. Seamanship for Boys' Training Ships Royal Navy 60 Foot-Line or Gap Rope is a rope's end rove through a block at the bowsprit cap, and bent to an eyelet-hole in the foot of the jib, or to the clew of the jib. † gap-wide adj. Obsolete gaping wide open. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > [adjective] > wide open or gaping yawningc893 wideOE wide open?c1225 gap-wide1582 gaping1594 mouthed1609 patulous1616 wide-opened1635 dehiscent1649 discontinuous1667 patulent1712 hiant1800 yawn-mouthed1861 1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis ii. 28 Downe we beat oure rampiers, our towne wals gapwyd ar opned. gap-window n. (see quot.). ΚΠ 1874 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. I. 942/1 Gap-window, a long and narrow window. Draft additions May 2001 gap year n. British a period of time (usually an academic year) taken by a student as a break from formal education, typically between leaving school and starting a university or college course, and often spent travelling or working. ΚΠ 1978 Ampleforth Jrnl. Autumn 93 The GAP Organisation (the name from ‘the gap year’ between school and further study)..finds jobs abroad for British students before they embark on careers. 1994 Scotsman (Electronic ed.) 10 Aug. Most major employers, universities and colleges view a gap year as a good thing... Coopers & Lybrand, for instance, has funded a gap-year student at St Andrews University to teach English in the Baltic region. 2000 Independent 10 Aug. i. 4/4 (caption) Maya Oakley..spent her gap year in Australia. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1898; most recently modified version published online June 2022). gapn.² Brit. /ɡap/, U.S. /ɡæp/ Etymology: Compare gaff n.² blowing the gap: blowing the gaff, giving information. ΘΚΠ society > communication > information > informing on or against > [noun] wrayingc1000 information1387 promotion?1533 talebearing1571 delation1578 sycophancy1622 peachery1654 blowing the gap1821 nosing1827 peaching1859 rounding1862 squeal1872 scream1915 singing1937 snouting1937 dobbing1968 whistle-blowing1971 1821 P. Egan Real Life in London I. xxiv. 557 He should like to smack the bit without blowing the gap. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1898; most recently modified version published online March 2022). gapv. Brit. /ɡap/, U.S. /ɡæp/ Etymology: < gap n.¹ Categories » a. intransitive. To break at the edge; to become jagged or notched. rare. b. transitive. To make notches in. dialect. rare. See also gapped adj. ΘΚΠ the world > space > shape > unevenness > condition or fact of receding > condition or action of indentation of edge > become indented at edge [verb (intransitive)] notch1693 gap1847 1847–78 J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words Gap, to notch, to jag. South. 1864 Reader 28 May 688 Iron was preferable to steel. Steel gapped and lost its edge. 1881 H. Smith & C. R. Smith Isle of Wight Words c. To make a gap or breach in or between; to open (a gap or passage). Cf. last quot. 18.. at gapped adj. 2. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > making holes or becoming holed > make (an opening or hole) [verb (transitive)] > make an opening or hole in or into > make gaps or breaches in slap1513 breach1803 gap1893 1893 I. K. Funk et al. Standard Dict. Eng. Lang. I Gap,..to make an opening or cause a hiatus or breach in. 1916 ‘B. Cable’ Action Front 95 Eager hands tore down the sandbags to gap a passage for them. 1925 Brit. Weekly 5 Mar. 545/3 Demolishing two-thirds of the houses, and ‘gapping’ and ‘loop-holing’ the remainder. 1927 Daily Express 29 July 1/2 The sowing, ‘gapping’, ‘singling’, hoeing, and other processes. 1959 Motor 2 Sept. 76/1 Distributor points properly gapped. d. intransitive. To be broken through at intervals; to have gaps; to gape open. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > an opening or aperture > have an opening or aperture [verb (intransitive)] > have breaches or gape open gap1948 1948 D. Ballantyne Cunninghams i. v. 22 The cottage veranda gapped in places. 1951 in M. McLuhan Mech. Bride 74 Because it fits so well, the sides don't gap. Derivatives ˈgapping n. a breaking into notches. ΘΚΠ the world > space > shape > unevenness > condition or fact of receding > [noun] > making or becoming notched nicking1551 notching1599 gappinga1684 notch1844 a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1683 (1955) IV. 326 The gapping too of the rasor, & cutting his owne fingers, was a little strange. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1898; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < n.¹c1380n.²1821v.a1684
随便看	ironstrapped ironstudded ironteeming irontipped irontired irontoothed ironusing ironvisaged ironvisored ironware ironwares ironweed ironweeds ironwilled ironwinged ironwitted ironwood ironwood tree ironwoods ironworded ironwork ironworked ironworker ironworkers ironworking

gapn.1

Compounds

Draft additions May 2001

gapn.2

gapv.

Derivatives

gapn.¹

gapn.²