spatial, a.
(ˈspeɪʃəl)
Also spacial.
[f. L. spati-um space n.1 + -al1.]
1. Having extension in space; occupying or taking up space; consisting of or characterized by space.
| 1847 Whewell Philos. Induct. Sci. II. 447 We contemplate objects as made up of spatial parts. 1862 J. W. Draper Intell. Devel. Europe iv. (1865) 85 All is composed of points or spacial units, which, taken together, constitute a number. 1863 J. G. Murphy Comm., Gen. i. 20 The expanse is here proved to be aerial or spatial; not solid. 1886 A. Weir Hist. Basis Mod. Europe (1889) 474 An independent spatial world, with minds and matter moving about in it. |
2. a. Of, pertaining, or relating to space; subject to, or governed by, the conditions of space. Chiefly
Metaph. and opposed to
temporal.
| α 1857 Whewell Hist. Induct. Sci. (ed. 3) I. 351 There are properties of bodies, of the most intimate kind, which involve such spatial relations as are exhibited in the Regular Solids. 1865 J. Grote Moral Ideals (1876) 188 If we translate the consideration of the mind from spatial to temporal language. 1875 Cayley in Phil. Trans. CLXV. 675 If..we imagine the spatial distribution as made over an indefinitely thin layer or stratum. 1886 A. Weir Hist. Basis Mod. Europe (1889) 481 Ideas..which have been formed from a vast quantity of temporal and spatial experience. |
| β 1871 Fraser Life Berkeley x. 364 A mathematical or spacial conception of what is real. a 1881 A. Barratt Phys. Metempiric (1883) 107 A temporal principle of unity does exist, but a spacial does not. |
b. spatial-temporal = spatio-temporal a.
| 1903 A. E. Taylor Elem. Metaphysics iii. iv. 249 We can..confine our attention to the spatial-temporal system of positions. 1925 Mind XXXIV. 44 The spatial-temporal order..is and must be taken for granted as ultimate by common sense and science. 1979 Amer. Pol. Sci. Rev. Mar. 157/2 Our language is filled with words whose original reference was to the position of one's body in the spatial-temporal world. |
3. Happening or taking place in space; caused or involved by space.
| 1866 W. R. Alger Solitudes Nat. & Man iii. 123 Spatial separation is not spiritual independence. a 1870 Sir J. Herschel in Proctor Other Worlds xii. 276 note, One of the arguments advanced in favour of the spatial extinction of light. 1888 Linnean Soc. Jrnl. XX. 232/2 Spatial segregation does not depend upon diversity in the qualities and powers of the organism. |
4. Of faculty or sense: Apprehending or perceiving space or extension.
spatial ability (
Psychol.), the measured aptitude for perceiving and comprehending relations involving space or extension.
| 1886 Encycl. Brit. XX. 54/1 note, The sensibility of our ‘spatial sense’. 1886 Sidgwick Hist. Ethics i. 9 To investigate the origin of the spatial faculty. 1940 R. S. Woodworth Psychol. (ed. 12) iii. 77 Spatial ability is the ability to grasp and use spatial relations. 1952 M. K. Wilson tr. Lorenz's King Solomon's Ring vii. 72 Only a few small passerines..possess enough ‘spatial intelligence’ to find their way through the windows and doors of a house. 1962 J. Tiffin Industr. Psychol. (rev. ed.) v. 158 The spatial ability tests showed the highest relative validity indexes for structural workers..and for some jobs for which such indexes would not be expected. 1964 M. Argyle Psychol. & Social Probl. xi. 141 Although spatial and non-verbal intelligence tests do not give a good prediction to success at grammar school, they do predict well to success at technical colleges. 1977 Psychol. Abstr. LVIII. 813/2 Factor analysis of the intercorrelation matrices for 14 variables yielded the same 4 factors in each group for space perception and spatial ability. |
Hence
spatiality (
speɪʃɪˈælɪtɪ), spatial character, quality, or property.
| 1887 Mind Jan. 10 The existence of the vague form..of spatiality. 1890 A. Seth Scot. Philos. (ed. 2) iii. 98 Elements which do not already include the fact of spatiality. |