Etymology: < Anglo-Norman space, variant of espace, espas, espasce, espase, espasse, esspace, ezpasz, aspace and Old French spaze, variant of aspace, Old French, Middle French espace, espasse (French espace ) period of time, duration, time (second half of the 12th cent.), deferment, delay, respite (c1177), size, extent (of a place) (c1200), occasion, opportunity (13th cent.), distance between two points, interval, width (1314), expanse of the air or sky (16th cent.; 1662 in sense ‘infinite expanse of the universe’) < classical Latin spatium (in post-classical Latin also spacium ) course or track, expanse of ground, area, space occupied by something, expanse in which the universe is situated, intervening space, gap, interval, space available for a purpose, room, linear extent, length, width, distance, great length or distance, actual distance, surface area, extent, size, stretch of time, period, long period, temporal extent, duration, intervening period of time, interval, time available for a purpose, (in music) difference in pitch between two notes, interval, length or time of a metrical foot, quantity of a vowel sound < the same Indo-European base as speed n. The English word apparently reflects borrowing of the (relatively rare) French forms of the type space , spaze , although its sense development was greatly influenced by the senses shown by the French word in forms of the (much commoner) type espace , as also by the senses of the Latin word. For (rare) examples of forms in English reflecting borrowing of the French type espace see espace n. Compare also spacie n. Compare Old Occitan espazi, espasi (1204; Occitan espaci), Catalan espai (late 13th cent.), Spanish espacio (1196), Portuguese espaço (14th cent.), Italian spazio (1308).