interstice

****************************************************************
Introducing WORD SWEEP!, the first board game to feature Merriam-Webster definitions! Enjoy hours of challenging fun. Try it at:
http://www.wordsweep.com 
****************************************************************

The Word of the Day for March 31 is:

interstice   \in-TER-stus\   noun
    *1 : space that intervenes between things; especially : one between closely spaced things
     2 : short space of time between events 

Example sentence:
     Paula found a bundle of love letters tucked in an interstice in the wall, where they must have been hidden by one of the house's former occupants.

Did you know? 
     You don't need to read between the lines to understand the history of "interstice"; its etymology is plain to see. "Interstice" derives from the Latin "interstitium," which is itself formed from the prefix "inter-," meaning "between," and "-stes," meaning "standing." Interstices are the cracks and crevices of life, and the word is often used for both the literal and figurative gaps of the world. In modern uses, "interstice" can even refer to gaps in time or to special niches in the larger expanse of something else. Evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould used it, for example, to comment, "Dinosaurs held sway for 100 million years while mammals, all the while, lived as small animals in the interstices of their world."

*Indicates the sense illustrated by the example sentence.





You Are Subscribed As: [email protected]
To unsubscribe, change your e-mail address or to subscribe to the html
version of Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day, featuring audio
pronunciations, please visit:

http://mw.drhinternet.net/sm/wod/changeofaddress.iphtml

(c) 2007 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

Merriam-Webster, Inc.
47 Federal Street
P.O. Box 281
Springfield, MA 01102