Deliberate empty space held inside a boundary. Room kept so a thing does not press against its own edge.
English pad (a soft cushion or stuffing), first recorded in the 16th century, of disputed origin — perhaps from a Low German source, perhaps imitative of a soft footfall; deliberate empty space kept so a thing does not press against its own edge.
Deliberate empty space held inside a boundary, kept so that a thing never has to press against its own edge.