living spacen.
/ˈlɪvɪŋ speɪs/, U.S. /ˈlɪvɪŋ ˌspeɪs/ 1.
a. Room or space for living.
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the world > space > [noun] > sufficient space or room > room to live, move, or work
elbow roomc1540
scope1555
play1659
foot-gang1814
living space1852
living room1935
1852 Standard 12 Nov. Such apartments, more particularly in old mansions or crowded neighbourhoods, bear a larger proportion to the available living space than in generally imagined.
1944 F. Clune Red Heart 20 The Australian native..can make a ‘living-space’ in a country where white people can't.
1959 Listener 10 Dec. 1032/1 The 5,000 or so species of pest insects are man's most dangerous competitors for food and living space on this planet.
1972 M. Jones Life on Dole i. 15 There might have been a couple of lodgers, unmarried men..whose living space was a cot in the corner.
1995 Vancouver Sun (Nexis) 3 Feb. a15 The wildlife that shares living space with rurban families..can overrun manicured lawns and make dinner out of the expensive shrubbery.
2004 B. K. Ahlborn Zool. Physics ii. 41 Warm-blooded animals with effective insulation were able to extend the living space into the Polar- and Sub Arctic regions.
b. spec. Territory which a group, state, or nation believes or asserts is needed for its natural development or expansion; = Lebensraum n.Chiefly employed as a translation of the German term Lebensraum, and used in relation to the aggressively expansionist policies of Nazi Germany.
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society > authority > rule or government > territorial jurisdiction or areas subject to > [noun] > territory needed by Germans
Lebensraum1905
living space1906
1906 Bull. Amer. Geogr. Soc. 38 265 The space thus covered by the horde is the dwelling space (Wohnraum), in distinction from the 'living space' (Lebensraum).
1937 Kingston Gleaner (Jamaica) 8 Sept. 7/2 Nuremberg, Sept. 7... Hitler's proclamation dealt with the difficulties of food supplies. ‘Living space is too small without the addition of colonies to guarantee undisturbed and assured lasting food supply,’ he says.
1939 W. S. Churchill Into Battle (1941) 127 The Swiss..may rob them of their living-space.
1959 Chambers's Encycl. IV. 338/2 Hitler's next objective was to sweep Czechoslovakia out of the road to ‘living space’ in the east.
1961 L. D. Stamp Gloss. Geogr. Terms 296/2 Living space, an English translation of the German Lebensraum but most authors prefer to use the German word when discussing its geopolitical implications.
2014 C. McNab Hitler's Fortresses 71 Hitler had from the outset expressed the opinion that for Germany to be a great power, her people needed living space.
2. A habitable area in a room or house, intended for general, everyday use. Cf. living room n. 1.
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society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > room > [noun] > specific part of
ruellec1400
nook?a1425
ingle-nook1773
area1839
living space1882
slip1886
cosy corner1894
bed-space1895
diner1907
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > room > room by type of use > [noun] > living room
living room1787
homeroom1841
sala1851
living space1882
living area1898
1882 Times 24 Aug. 6/5 As this lining forms the walls of the cabins and living spaces, it was impossible to get to the bottom and side plating.
1959 Listener 17 Dec. 1071/1 The bed-sitting-room was divided by curtains into three living-spaces.
1961 Listener 28 Dec. 1110/1 Architects will be able to plan, on the ground floor, one, two, or three living spaces—for example, a kitchen partially opening into a dining-room, with a separate living-room.
1999 J. Burchill Married Alive xi. 173 I follow her into our gracious living space. She immediately renders it a flophouse—just by standing there, radiating.
2013 Radio Times 23 Nov. (South/West ed.) 121/2 Martin's concept is an open plan living space with a master bedroom sitting on a mezzanine floor.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1852