Where does “gap” come from?

Gap comes from Middle English gap, from Old Norse gap, from Old Norse gapa meaning to open or yawn.

gap (English): An opening in anything made by breaking or...

Definitions

  1. An opening in anything made by breaking or...

Ancestry of “gap”, step by step

gap traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via English gape

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishgapeTo open the mouth wide, especially involuntarily,...
2Middle Englishgapen—
3Old Norsegapato gape, open the mouth wide
4Proto-Germanicgapōnąto gaze, observe
5Proto-Indo-Europeanǵʰeh₁y-to yawn, gape; to gape, be wide open; to gape,...
6Proto-Indo-Europeanǵʰih₁-—

via Middle English gap

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishgap—
2Old Norsegapgap, empty space; shouting, crying, gab

via French Gap

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1FrenchGap—
2LatinVappincum—

Words derived from “gap”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰih₁- →