Interstice

In*ter"stice (?; 277), n.; pl. Interstices (#). [L. interstitium a pause, interval; inter between + sistere to set, fr. stare to stand: cf. F. interstice. See Stand.]

1. That which intervenes between one thing and another; especially, a space between things closely set, or between the parts which compose a body; a narrow chink; a crack; a crevice; a hole; an interval; as, the interstices of a wall.

2. An interval of time; specifically (R. C. Ch.), in the plural, the intervals which the canon law requires between the reception of the various degrees of orders.

Nonobservance of the interstices . . . is a sin.
Addis & Arnold.