interstice
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interstice
- /ɪnˈtɜː.stɪs/ UK
- /ɪnˈtɚ.stəs/ US
Where it comes from
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”).
noun interstices
-
A small opening or space between objects, especially adjacent objects or objects set closely together, such as between cords in a rope, components of a multiconductor electrical cable or atoms in a crystal.
1887, Osborne Reynolds, Experiments showing Dilatancy, in Notices of the Proceedings, Volume 11, Royal Institution of Great Britain, page 360,
The tide leaves the sand, though apparently dry on the surface, with all its interstices perfectly full of water which is kept up to the surface of the sand
Similar: chink
- A fragment of space. 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.
- A small interval of time free to be spent on activities other than one's primary goal.
Similar: crack, cranny, crevice, fissure, gap, interstitial space, slit, hole
Thesaurus
Translations
Every language
noun small interval of time
| Русский | промежу́ток promežútok |
|---|
noun small opening or space
| Español | intersticio |
|---|---|
| Português | interstício |
| Français | interstice |
| Italiano | interstizio |
| Română | interstițiu |
| Русский | зазо́р zazór, промежу́ток promežútok, расще́лина rasščélina |
Talk about this word "interstice." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/interstice. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. interstice. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/interstice "interstice." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/interstice.Cite this
@misc{interstice_2026,
title = {interstice},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/interstice},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
