## Meanings
1. An empty space or opening between two things.
2. A period of time when nothing is happening or planned.
3. A large difference between two amounts, groups, or things.
4. Something missing; an absence or shortfall.

## Examples
- The dog squeezed through a gap in the fence.
- I have a gap in my schedule on Tuesday afternoon.
- There is a growing gap between rich and poor in many countries.
- Her sudden departure left a gap in the team.

## Synonyms
- clearing
- hiatus
- hole
- interim
- interspace
- opening
- pause
- space
- window

## Derived Forms
- airgap
- bandgap
- eigengap
- fillgap
- gap-fill
- gap-lapper
- gap-toothed
- gapful
- gapless
- gaplike
- gapmer
- gapper

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: gap//gappe
- Root: gap
- Root: *gapōną
- Root: *ǵʰeh₂-

## Etymology
Inherited from Middle English gap /gappe, from Old Norse gap (“an empty space, gap, chasm”), from gapa (“to gape, scream”), from Proto-Germanic *gapōną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₂- (“to open wide, gape”). Related to Danish gab (“an expanse, space, gap”), Old English ġeap (“open space, expanse”). Doublet of gape.

## AI Etymology
Gap is inherited from Middle English gap /gappe, from Old Norse gap (“an empty space, gap, chasm”), from gapa (“to gape, scream”), from Proto-Germanic *gapōną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₂- (“to open wide, gape”). Related to Danish gab (“an expanse, space, gap”), Old English ġeap (“open space, expanse”). Doublet of gape. In current use, the main senses are “An empty space or opening between two things” and “A period of time when nothing is happening or planned”.

## Topics
- Space, Position & Direction
- Time

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