spaciosity

English

Etymology

From Latin spatiōsitās, modified after spacious; compare Middle English spaciosite, spaciositee, Middle French spaciosite (“hollow space or cavity”), and modern French spaciosité (“spaciousness, extensiveness”, 1842).[1]

Noun

spaciosity (uncountable)

  1. The property of being spacious. [from 1612][1]
    • 1612, [Miguel de Cervantes], “Wherin Is Recounted the History of the Lackey, with Other Strange Aduentures Befalne in the Inne”, in Thomas Shelton, transl., The History of the Valorous and Wittie Knight-errant Don-Quixote of the Mancha. […], London: […] William Stansby, for Ed[ward] Blount and W. Barret, →OCLC, part 4, page 510:
      Hold Lady the hand, or as I may better ſay, the executioner of earthly miſcreants: hold I ſay that hand, which no other woman euer touched before, not euen ſhee her ſelfe that hath intyre poſſeſſion of my whole body, nor doe I giue it to you, to the end you ſhould kiſſe it; but that you may behold the contexture of the ſinnewes, the knitting of the muſcles, and the ſpacioſity and breadth of the veines, whereby you may collect how great ought the force of that arme to be whereunto ſuch a hand is knit.
    • 1694, Richard Burthogge, “The Idea or Notion of Substance. […]”, in An Essay upon Reason, and the Nature of Spirits, London: […] John Dunton […], →OCLC, chapter V (Of Substance), page 108:
      They know no more what that is in it ſelf, that is extended, than what that is, that is Cogitative; and may be as ſure, that they do think, as they are, that they are ſpacious, ay, they cannot know that they are ſpacious, but by thinking. But of ſpatioſity or extenſion, (the Accident that conſtitutes matter,) I ſhall have occaſion to diſcourſe hereafter, when I come to ſpeak of quantity, I proceed now to diſcourſe of Mind.
    • 1877, [George] Walter Thornbury, “Turner’s Art Life—(continued)”, in The Life of J. M. W. Turner, R.A.: Founded on Letters and Papers Furnished by His Friends and Fellow-Academicians […], new edition, London: Chatto & Windus, […], →OCLC, page 433:
      The soul does not feel cramped in view of this picture [Crossing the Brook]. Its spatiosity exhilarates the spectator.

Synonyms

Translations

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 “spaciosity, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
    The earliest use given of the sense “the property of being spacious” is in Don-Quixote, but the OED incorrectly states that it is from volume II (1620).
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