interstice
a space between things
TRANSLATION
interstice = Zwischenraum, Spalte, Lücke, Ritze, Zwischenstelle, Zwischenzeit, Fuge
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
"Like it or not, many people fill in every INTERSTICE of their day by whipping out their phone..."
Forbes (June 2021)
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"Relics of the British empire now mostly survive in the INTERSTICES of the global economy."
The Guardian (August 2014)
Did you
know?
interstice
noun
- a narrow space between things, especially between closely spaced objects.
- an intervening space; especially: one that is small or narrow.
- a small space between things that are close together.
Oxford English Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Cambridge Dictionary
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WORD ORIGIN
"Interstice" entered English in the early 15th century from Old French interstice (14th century) and directly from Latin interstitium, meaning "interval" or literally "space between". The Latin derives from inter- (between) + sistere (to stand, to stop), giving us the sense of "standing in between" or "stopping in the middle".
The root sistere comes from stare ("to stand"), which traces back to the Proto-Indo-European root *sta- ("to stand, make or be firm"). This ancient root gave English many related words including "stand," "state," "status," "statue," and "stable".
While "interstice" has maintained its core meaning for centuries—a small space between things—its application has expanded. It now describes physical gaps (spaces between bricks or fibers), temporal gaps (intervals of time), and conceptual gaps (spaces between ideas). The plural "interstices" is frequently used to describe these spaces collectively.
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BETWEEN THE LINES
Most of us spend our lives staring at things, not the spaces between them. The building, not the air around it. The appointment, not the minutes before it starts. The words someone says, not the quiet between sentences. But here’s what we miss when we ignore the gaps: that’s where the interesting stuff actually happens.
Regarding the creation of the statue of David, Michelangelo said he “saw the angel in the marble and carved until he set him free.” This vision reflects his belief that the figure already existed within the stone—that his task was simply to remove what concealed it. It’s a lesson in perception: what we call emptiness gives form to everything we notice. In conversations, too, the real meaning often lives in the pauses, not the words. Pauses give words their weight. When someone hesitates before answering, that silence says something. Even the dead air on a phone call carries meaning.
In architecture, a room isn’t just walls and furniture—it’s the space between them that shapes how we feel inside it. Good architects design emptiness as carefully as structure.
Interstices matter in our schedules too. The fifteen minutes between meetings. The hour before dinner. The weekend morning with no plans. These aren’t wasted time—they’re breathing room. Many creative people say their best ideas arrive not during work but in the gaps—while walking, in the shower, between meetings.
Sometimes the gap itself is the point. Interstices aren’t what’s left over after we plan the important stuff—they’re part of the structure itself. And when we start noticing them, we realize they were never really empty—they were quietly full of life, waiting to be seen.
Helga & Paul Smith
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“The minuscule, a narrow gate, opens up an entire world.” — Gaston Bachelard (on the narrow space between things)
“Pay attention to the pauses. The music happens in the interstices between the notes.” — (A common paraphrase of a concept often attributed to composer Claude Debussy).
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SYNONYMS
aperture, blank, breach, break, break in continuity, breathing space, cavity, chink, cleft, crack, crack in the wall, cranny, crevice, fissure, gap, gap in between, hiatus, in-between space, INTERSTICE, interval, interval of time, lacuna, lull, margin, narrow opening, niche, opening, pause, rift, slack moment, slit, slot, space, space between, the cracks in the surface, the spaces in between, void
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SMUGGLE
OWAD into a conversation today, say something like:
"Modern life leaves few INTERSTICES for contemplation—every moment seems scheduled or interrupted by notifications."
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P L E A S E S U P P O R T O W A D
On evenings and weekends, I research and write your daily OWAD newsletter together with Helga—my lovely wife and coaching partner—and our eagle-eyed daughter, Jennifer.
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Paul, Helga, & Jenny Smith
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