gap

See also: Gap, GAP, gấp, gäp, and gặp

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: gap, IPA^(key): /ɡæp/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æp

Etymology 1

From Middle English gap, gappe, a borrowing from Old Norse gap (“an empty space, gap, chasm”), related to Danish gab (“an expanse, space, gap”), Old English ġeap (“open space, expanse”), Old Norse gapa (“to gape”); compare gape.

Noun

gap (plural gaps)

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.
   • 2013 August 3, “The machine of a new soul”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847:

     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.

   I'm taking a gap.

6. A mountain or hill pass.

   The exploring party went through the high gap in the mountains.

7. (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.

8. (baseball) The regions between the outfielders.

   Jones doubled through the gap.

9. (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.
   • 2008, Eileen Willis, Louise Reynolds, Helen Keleher, Understanding the Australian Health Care System, page 5,

     Under bulk billing the patient does not pay a gap, and the medical practitioner receives 85% of the scheduled fee.

10. (Australia) (usually written as "the gap") The disparity between the indigenous and non-indigenous communities with regard to life expectancy, education, health, etc.
11. (genetics) An unsequenced region in a sequence alignment.

Synonyms

• (opening made by breaking or parting): break, hole, rip, split, tear, rift, chasm, fissure
• (opening allowing passage or entrance): break, clearing, hole, opening
• (opening that implies a breach or defect): space
• (vacant space or time): window
• (hiatus): hiatus
• (mountain pass): col, neck, pass
• (in baseball):

Hyponyms

• air gap
• bomber gap
• credibility gap
• gender gap
• generation gap
• missile gap
• prime gap
• spark gap

 

Derived terms

• gap-toothed

Related terms

• bridge the gap
• gap year
• stand in the gap

Translations

opening made by breaking or parting

• Assamese: ফাঁক (phãk)
• Bulgarian: ду̀пка (bg) f (dùpka), пролу̀ка (bg) f (prolùka), пра̀зно мя̀сто n (pràzno mjàsto)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 罅 (laa³)

  Mandarin: 間隙 (zh), 间隙 (zh) (jiànxì)

• Finnish: aukko (fi)
• French: brèche (fr) f, écart (fr) m
• Galician: breca (gl) f, fenda f, fisga f, laño m, orgallo m, arro m
• German: Spalte (de) f, Ritz (de) m, Ritze (de) f
• Greek: κενό (el) n (kenó)
• Irish: bearna (ga) f

• Italian: breccia f, fessura (it) f, buco (it) m, passaggio (it) m
• Japanese: 間隙 (ja) (kangeki), ずれ (zure)
• Maori: mokorawhā
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: luke m, f, åpning (no) m, f, mellomrom n, lomme (no) m, f, tomrom (no) n, gap n, spalte (no) m, f

• Portuguese: fenda (pt) f
• Russian: разры́в (ru) m (razrýv), проло́м (ru) m (prolóm), брешь (ru) f (brešʹ), щель (ru) f (ščelʹ), зазо́р (ru) m (zazór), промежу́ток (ru) m (promežútok), люфт (ru) m (ljuft), интерва́л (ru) m (intɛrvál)
• Spanish: brecha (es) f, hueco (es) m
• Swahili: mwanya (sw)
• Walloon: schård (wa) m, trô (wa) m
• Zulu: isikhala class 7/8

opening allowing passage or entrance

• Bulgarian: про̀ход (bg) m (pròhod), про̀пуск (bg) m (pròpusk)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 罅 (laa³)

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: otvor (cs) m
• Finnish: aukko (fi)
• French: trouée (fr) f
• Galician: esgranicela f
• German: Spalt (de) m
• Greek: κενό (el) n (kenó)
• Hungarian: hézag (hu)

• Irish: bearna (ga) f
• Italian: breccia f, fessura (it) f, apertura (it) f, passaggio (it) m
• Maori: angotanga
• Polish: szczelina (pl) f
• Portuguese: brecha (pt) f
• Russian: щель (ru) f (ščelʹ), брешь (ru) f (brešʹ), промежу́ток (ru) m (promežútok)
• Spanish: brecha (es) f, hueco (es) m
• Swahili: mwanya (sw)
• Walloon: trô (wa) m, trawêye (wa) f
• Zulu: isikhala class 7/8

opening that implies a breach or defect

• Bulgarian: ду̀пка (bg) f (dùpka)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Estonian: pragu
• Finnish: aukko (fi)
• Galician: granicela f, eiva f, laña f, refollo m
• Greek: κενό (el) n (kenó)
• Hungarian: hézag (hu)

• Irish: bearna (ga) f
• Italian: fessura (it) f, spazio vuoto m, interruzione (it) f
• Polish: szpara (pl) f, dziura (pl) f, szczelina (pl) f
• Portuguese: brecha (pt) f
• Russian: щель (ru) f (ščelʹ), дыра́ (ru) f (dyrá)
• Swahili: mwanya (sw)
• Walloon: crevåde (wa) f, creveure (wa) f

vacant space or time

• Bulgarian: интерва̀л (bg) m (intervàl)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: aukko (fi)
• French: solution de continuité (fr)
• Greek: κενό (el) n (kenó)

• Italian: spazio vuoto m
• Polish: przerwa (pl) f, okienko (pl) n
• Portuguese: vão (pt) m
• Russian: переры́в (ru) m (pererýv), окно́ (ru) n (oknó)
• Spanish: hueco (es) m
• Swahili: mwanya (sw)

hiatus — see hiatus

mountain pass

• Bulgarian: проло̀м (bg) m (prolòm), дефилѐ (bg) n (defilѐ)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 隘口 (zh) (àikǒu)

• Estonian: lõhe
• Finnish: sola (fi)

• French: col (fr) m
• Navajo: dziłgiizh
• Russian: прохо́д (ru) m (proxód), уще́лье (ru) n (uščélʹje)
• Swahili: mwanya (sw)
• Walloon: passåjhe (wa) f

in baseball

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: aukkopaikka

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} hueco (es) m, ^{(please verify)} abertura (es) f

• Volapük: ^{(please verify)} gäp (vo)

Verb

gap (third-person singular simple present gaps, present participle gapping, simple past and past participle gapped)

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.

Translations

to notch

• Bulgarian: прорязвам (bg) (prorjazvam)
• Finnish: tehdä merkki

• French: entailler (fr)

to breach

• Bulgarian: пробивам (bg) (probivam)
• Finnish: tehdä aukko

• French: trouer (fr)

to check the size of a gap

• Finnish: tarkistaa aukko

Etymology 2

Noun

gap (plural gaps)

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

Anagrams

• AGP, APG, GPA, PGA, Pag

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Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑp

Etymology 1

Verb

gap

1. first-person singular present indicative of gappen
2. imperative of gappen

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English gap. Related to gapen, gaap, jaap.

Noun

gap n (plural gappen, diminutive gapje n)

1. (business) gap

   Synonyms: gat, kloof

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Norwegian Bokmål

Verb

gap

1. imperative of gape

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Old Norse

Etymology

Presumably from gapa (“to gape”).

Pronunciation

• (12th century Icelandic) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɑp/

Noun

gap n (genitive gaps, plural gǫp)

1. gap, empty space
   • Vǫluspá, verse 3, lines 7-8, in 1860, T. Möbius, Edda Sæmundar hins fróða: mit einem Anhang zum Theil bisher ungedruckter Gedichte. Leipzig, page 1:

     […] gap var ginnunga, / en gras hvergi.

     […] gap was of void, / but grass nowhere.

2. (figuratively) shouting, crying, gab
   • Haralds saga herdráða 64, in 1868, C. R. Unger, G. Vigfússon, Flateyjarbok. Udg. efter offentlig foranstaltning, Volume 3. Christiania, page 425:

     […] þar uar suo mikit hareyste og gap […]

     […] there was so much noise and gab […]

Declension

  Declension of gap (strong a-stem)

neuter	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	gap	gapit	gǫp	gǫpin
accusative	gap	gapit	gǫp	gǫpin
dative	gapi	gapinu	gǫpum	gǫpunum
genitive	gaps	gapsins	gapa	gapanna

Derived terms

Terms derived from gap

• gaplyndi (“bluster”)
• gapriplar (“gaping”)
• gapsmaðr (“dunce”)

• Gapþrosnir (“Odin”)
• Ginnungagap (“primeval void”)

Related terms

• gapa (“to gape”)

• gapi (“reckless man”)

Descendants

• Danish: gab
• English: gap
• Faroese: gap
• Icelandic: gap

• Norwegian Bokmål: gap
• Norwegian Nynorsk: gap
• Swedish: gap

References

• gap in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• gap in An Icelandic-English Dictionary, R. Cleasby and G. Vigfússon, Clarendon Press, 1874, at Internet Archive.
• gap in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, G. T. Zoëga, Clarendon Press, 1910, at Internet Archive.

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Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡap/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

gap m pers

1. (usually in the plural, derogatory) rubbernecker, bystander, passer-by

Usage notes

Because this word inflects as if it contained a terminal [pʲ], which no longer exists in modern Polish and cannot be represented in Polish orthography, the nominative singular form is in practice used only as a lemma in dictionaries. Most native speakers only recognize this word in its inflected forms.

Declension

declension of gap

	singular	plural
nominative	gap	gapie
genitive	gapia	gapiów
dative	gapiowi	gapiom
accusative	gapia	gapiów
instrumental	gapiem	gapiami
locative	gapiu	gapiach
vocative	gapiu	gapie

Further reading

• gap in Polish dictionaries at PWN