English
thin space
From thin + space.
Proto-Indo-European *tenh₂- ‘to stretch’
…
Proto-Germanic *þunnuz ‘thin’
Proto-West Germanic *þunnī ‘thin’
Old English þynne ‘thin’
Middle English thinne ‘thin’
English thin
Proto-Indo-European *(s)peh₂- ‘to stretch’
Latin spatium ‘space’
Old French espace ‘space’
Anglo-Norman space
Middle English space
English space
The story
First use appears c. 1683 in the writings of Joseph Moxon.
Today it means
noun A metal block used to separate words, one fifth of an em in width.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “thin space”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / thin space