Indentation

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˌɪndɛnˈteɪʃən/

Definitions

1. A recessed space or notch formed in an edge or surface, creating an inward depression or gap
2. A marked recess in a surface that creates an inward space for design or functionality
3. A depression or set-back in a surface that forms a notable inward space often used for aesthetic or practical purposes

Etymology: Indentation is a plain formation: the verb "indent" with the noun-forming suffix "-ation" added to it. The verb itself comes from Middle English, where it was borrowed from Medieval Latin "indentare", meaning to make notches or teeth along an edge, so the sense of a jagged cut survives in the word's first meaning. The suffix passed into English through Old French, from the Latin "-ātiō", which turns an action into the thing or result of that action. The noun therefore names the result of indenting: the notch or recess that is cut into something. Its literal sense was the toothed edge of a document, and the legal idea of an indenture, a written agreement copied twice on one sheet and cut with a zigzag line so the two halves could be matched, grew from that same root.

Synonyms: notch, dent, cavity

Antonyms: protrusion, bulge