interval
nounUK /ˈɪntəvəʊ/ · US /ˈɪntɚvəl/
Etymology From Middle English interval, intervalle, from Old French intervalle, entreval, from Latin intervallum (“space between, interval, distance, interval of time, pause, difference; literally, space between two palisades or walls”), from inter (“between”) + vallum (“palisade, wall”).
7 senses
A distance in space.
- 'Twixt host and host but narrow space was left, / A dreadful interval.1667, John Milton, “Book VI”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
- [M]any attempts were made to prevent the spreading of it [the fire] by pulling down Houses, and making great Intervals, but all in vain, the Fire seizing upon the Timber and Rubbish, and so continuing it set even through those spaces […]1666 September 8, The London Gazette:
A period of time.
- the interval between contractions during childbirth
Entertainment, Lifestyle, Music The difference (a ratio or logarithmic measure) in pitch between two notes, often referring to those two pitches themselves (otherwise known as a dyad).
Mathematics, Sciences A connected section of the real line which may be empty or have a length of zero.
Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports half time, a scheduled intermission between the periods of play.
- Spain made three substitutions at the interval, sending on former Arsenal captain Fabregas, Chelsea's Juan Mata and Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina for Xavi, David Silva and Casillas.2011 November 12, “International friendly: England 1-0 Spain”, in BBC Sport:
Ball games, Cricket, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports Either of the two breaks, at lunch and tea, between the three sessions of a day's play.
- Derived terms
43 terms
augmented interval, bit interval, Boutellier interval, compound interval, confidence interval, contour interval, devil's interval, diminished interval, equal-interval chord, even-interval, generic interval, high-intensity interval training, hyperinterval, interval class, interval cycle, intervaled, intervalize, intervallic, intervally, interval of time, intervalometer, interval time, interval training, interval transit time, interval variable, lucid interval, major interval, midinterval, minor interval, mixed-interval chord, musical interval, perfect interval, postmortem interval, punctured interval, QT interval, serial interval, superfluous interval, surface interval, time interval, unit interval, vertical interval, Wilson score interval, wolf interval- Hyponyms
- open interval, half-open interval, closed interval, sub-interval, subinterval