interlapse
interlapse noun: the time between two events.
Noun
interlapse (plural interlapses)
- The time between two events.
- […] after a short interlapse of time [the salts] produce Coughs, Ptisicks, and at last a Pulmonique Consumption.1666, Gideon Harvey, chapter 28, in Morbus Anglicus: or, The Anatomy of Consumptions, London: Nathaniel Brook, page 160
- A part of the time they spent in senseless intoxication; and the lucid interlapse of sobriety was occupied only in mourning over the recollection of past importance, and trembling at the prospect of speedy annihilation.1819, Ezekiel Sanford, A History of the United States before the Revolution, section III, Philadelphia: Anthony Finley, page cxc
- The distance between two things.
- There is an exquisite continuous gradation and interlapse of hue between the silver-grays, the reddish-browns, and the dull yellows of the honeysuckles, the ruddy apple, the auburn tresses of Venus, her lips and eyes, the red and pink roses, the yellow butterflies, and the dark-green background.1882, William Sharp, chapter 3, in Dante Gabriel Rossetti: A Record and a Study, London: Macmillan, page 207
- Synonyms:
- gap, separation, break, interspace, interstice, interstitium, opening, space
Verb
interlapse (third-person singular simple present interlapses, present participle interlapsing, simple past and past participle interlapsed)
- To elapse (between two events).
- the space of time that interlapsed betwixt the overthrow of Hamilton, and our solemne denouncing against them for that hostilitie1651, Henry Parker, “Of the Scoch Warre”, in Scotlands Holy War, London, p
- But the time which has interlapsed since the adoption of the resolution has given us indubitable evidence of the course of policy which the President is resolved to pursue.1821, The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States, Sixteenth Congress—Second Session, Washington: Gales and Seaton, 1855, “South American States,” p. 1050
- Synonyms:
- intervene
- To be situated between.
- But when the pool, save for the margins, was all one wave of interlapsing gold and silver, the shadow-shape at last raised a shaggy peaked head.1895, William Sharp (as Fiona Macleod), The Mountain Lovers, London: John Lane, Chapter 1, p. 13
Synonyms of interlapse
5 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of interlapse
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | interlapses |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | interlapses |
| present participle | interlapsing |
| past participle | interlapsed |
| past | interlapsed |
Origin of interlapse
From inter- + lapse.
Questions about interlapse
- What does interlapse mean?
- Interlapse means the time between two events.
- What part of speech is interlapse?
- Interlapse can be a noun or a verb.
- What is the plural of interlapse?
- The plural of interlapse is interlapses.
Words near interlapse in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: interlapse (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “interlapse.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/interlapse. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.