Category:Gap

Gap, n. Etym: [OE. gap; cf. Icel. gap an empty space, Sw. gap mouth, breach, abyss, Dan. gab mouth, opening, AS. geap expanse; as adj., wide, spacious. See Gape.]

Defn: An opening in anything made by breaking or parting; as, a gap in a fence; an opening for a passage or entrance; an opening which implies a breach or defect; a vacant space or time; a hiatus; a mountain pass. Miseries ensued by the opening of that gap. Knolles. It would make a great gap in your own honor. Shak. Gap lathe (Mach.), a turning lathe with a deep notch in the bed to admit of turning a short object of large diameter. -- To stand in the gap, to expose one's self for the protection of something; to make defense against any assailing danger; to take the place of a fallen defender or supporter. -- To stop a gap, to secure a weak point; to repair a defect.

gap Gap, v. t.

1. To notch, as a sword or knife.

2. To make an opening in; to breach. Their masses are gapp'd with our grape. Tennyson.

---excerpt from the Illustrated Bible Dictionary.

Gap - A rent or opening in a wall (Ezekiel 13:5; compare Amos 4:3). The false prophets did not stand in the gap (Ezekiel 22:30), i.e., they did nothing to stop the outbreak of wickedness.