Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “space” come from?

space (Middle English) comes from Old French espace, from Latin spatium, from Proto-Indo-European spéh₁-, from Proto-Indo-European speh₁- — to succeed, to prosper.

Ancestry of “space”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchespacespace; room; duration
2LatinspatiumSpace, room, extent; Distance between points; A...
3Proto-Indo-Europeanspéh₁-—
4Proto-Indo-Europeanspeh₁-to succeed, to prosper

Words derived from “space”

  • space
  • spacing
  • namespace
  • spacecraft
  • workspace
  • aerospace
  • airspace
  • spacetime
  • spaceship
  • spacer
  • subspace
  • tablespace
  • spaceflight
  • spaceport
  • hyperspace
  • headspace
  • interspace
  • spaceman
  • spaceplane
  • spacial
  • userspace
  • battlespace
  • spaceborne
  • spaceless
Every word from Proto-Indo-European speh₁- →