span

intervalle, laps de temps

Courte durée ou petite distance.

En anglais simple : A short amount of time or a small distance.

• His attention span is short.
• A lot happened in that brief span of time.
• The two windows are separated by a narrow span of wall.

Comment l'utiliser : a span of something (The changes happened within a span of three days.)

Synonymes : interval, stretch

Expressions courantes : attention span, a short span, span of time

empan

Distance entre les bouts du pouce et du petit doigt quand la main est bien écartée.

En anglais simple : The distance between your thumb and little finger when your hand is stretched open.

• The bowl is one span wide.
• He measured the board using the span of his hand.
• Her hand has a larger span than mine.

Synonymes : handspan

Expressions courantes : a hand span, span of something, one span wide

empan

Ancienne mesure de longueur fondée sur la main ouverte, valant traditionnellement environ 23 centimètres en Angleterre.

En anglais simple : An old unit of length based on an open hand, traditionally about twenty-three centimetres in England.

• An English span equals nine inches.
• The old record gives the length in spans.
• The cloth measured three spans across.

Synonymes : handspan

Expressions courantes : an English span, one span long, two span lengths

enjamber, franchir

S’étendre d’un côté à l’autre d’un vide ou d’un espace ouvert.

En anglais simple : To reach from one side of a gap or open space to the other.

• A bridge spans the river.
• The fallen tree spanned the narrow stream.
• Two stone arches span the entrance.

Synonymes : cross, bridge, stretch across

Expressions courantes : span a river, span the gap, span a valley

couvrir, s'étendre

S’étendre sur toute une zone ou sur toute une distance.

En anglais simple : To spread over the whole of an area or distance.

• The park spans fifty acres.
• Their farms span a large area of the valley.
• The railway network spans the entire country.

Synonymes : cover, extend over, stretch across

Expressions courantes : span three acres, span an area, span several miles

mesurer à l'empan

Mesurer quelque chose avec la main écartée ou en l’entourant avec les doigts.

En anglais simple : To measure something using the width of your open hand or your fingers around it.

• She spanned the board with her hand.
• He spanned the cylinder with his fingers.
• They spanned the distance instead of using a ruler.

Comment l'utiliser : span something with something (He spanned the board with his outstretched hand.)

Synonymes : measure by hand

Expressions courantes : span a distance, span a cylinder, span with something