intervallum

Intervallum is a Latin noun meaning an interval, gap, or space between two points in time, space, or structure. It derives from inter- “between” and vallum “rampart, wall,” originally signifying the space between defensive walls and later extending to any interval.

In classical and medieval Latin, intervallum is used to denote both temporal intervals (the interval of time between events) and spatial ones (the distance between objects, such as walls or stations). It appears in military contexts describing the distance between successive fortifications or marching camps; in geography and archaeology, it can describe the space separating features within a site.

In music and mathematics, Latin writers used a comparable term intervallum to denote an interval—the difference in pitch between two notes or the difference between two numerical values. The term is largely found in scholarly Latin rather than in everyday prose; in modern scholarship it is typically treated as a historical or translational form of the more common "interval." In modern languages, the cognate forms intervallo (Italian), intervalo (Spanish/Portuguese), intervalle (French), and intervalo (Portuguese) are used, while in English the term is typically rendered as interval.

Declension: intervallum, intervallī (genitive), intervallō (dative/ablative); neuter plural intervalla, intervallōrum.

See also: interval (general concept), musical interval, mathematical interval.