A period is a time period that falls between two limits.
Lapso is a term that comes from the Latin lapsus ( "slip" , "fall" ). The concept is used to name the passage, step or period of time between two limits . The notion is also used in reference to someone's fall into error or guilt .
For example: “The main character of the series was frozen for a period of time and woke up in the future” , “Those were not happy years for me: during that period, I was hospitalized twice for health problems” , “I apologize to those who have been affected by my lapse.”
Lapse and lapse
The fact that lapse also means error means that term is often confused with another apparently very similar term: lapse . The failure to use one word or another interchangeably is the result of that similarity, that they share the same etymological origin.
Lapsus must be used to refer to what are mistakes made due to carelessness. A clear example of this would be the following sentence: “The presenter of the contest made a mistake and deciphered the answer to the question that had been asked to the participant.”
With all of this clear, experts in grammar and linguistics agree that, to avoid confusion, lapse should only be used to refer to what would be periods of time .
Any type of time period, therefore, can be considered a lapse. This means that a day is the amount of time it takes for the Earth to rotate around its own axis, or that a year is the amount of time it takes to rotate around the Sun.
The length of the period varies according to each case.
The concept in law
Within the scope of law, we have to explain that the word in question is also frequently used. Specifically, it is used to create what is known as the evidentiary period . This is the term used to refer to the time period established for the acquisition and presentation of evidence during the development of a specific trial.
In the same way, only the word lapse is also used within the legal field to mention the time that exists between two established limits and during which a response to a given procedural action can be carried out . As a general rule, this will be established by law although, in some cases and when the law itself authorizes it, the judge will be in charge of determining them.
Duration of a period
It is possible to understand the period as an indefinite period of time . Its essence refers to being located between two limits, not a specific number of hours or days. A promise , in that sense, is a type of symbolic contract that creates an obligation within a certain period or until the fulfillment of a condition. If a man promises his wife that, before the end of the year, he will take her on a trip to the beach, the promise will be the period of time remaining until that date is reached or what was promised is fulfilled.
A period may also be set by law . The electoral ban is the period in which certain legal prohibitions regarding political propaganda are in force.