English
gap
Gap comes from Old Norse gap ‘chasm’, presumably from gapa ‘to gape’, perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₂- ‘to gape’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰeh₂-‘to open wide, gape’uncertain
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*gapōną‘to gape’uncertain
- Old Norsec. 800–1350gapa‘to gape, scream’uncertain
- Old Norse, derivedc. 800–1350gap‘an empty space, chasm’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘gap, opening’
- Englishearliest quotation 2007same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰeh₂-‘to open wide, gape’uncertain
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*gapōną‘to gape’uncertain
- Old Norsec. 800–1350gapa‘to gape, scream’uncertain
- Old Norse, derivedc. 800–1350gap‘an empty space, chasm’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘gap, opening’
- Englishearliest quotation 2007same form
Earliest quotation: 2007, 2006, Jeanne C. Stein: “The robe gaps open at the waist, breasts spilling…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₂- ‘to open wide, gape’
goal, gas, chaos, gum, chaotic, gill, hiatus, gab, 10 more
through Old Norse gapa ‘to gape, scream’
Today it means
noun An opening in anything, made by breaking or parting.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.