Hiatus

//haɪˈeɪtəs// noun

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A gap in a series, making it incomplete. countable, uncountable

    "Even the mechanical engineer comes at last to an end of his figures, and must stand up, a practical man, face to face with the discrepancies of nature and the hiatuses of theory."

  2. 2
    a natural opening or perforation through a bone or a membranous structure wordnet
  3. 3
    An interruption, break, pause or absence. countable, uncountable

    "The band decided to go on hiatus, citing creative differences."

  4. 4
    a missing piece (as a gap in a manuscript) wordnet
  5. 5
    An temporary break from work, especially one which is unexpected. countable, uncountable
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  1. 6
    an interruption in the intensity or amount of something wordnet
  2. 7
    A gap in geological strata. countable, uncountable

    "The beginning of the Mesozoic Era on the Colorado Plateau is marked by a regional hiatus or break of sedimentary deposition that lasted about 25 to 30 Ma."

  3. 8
    An opening in an organ. countable, uncountable

    "Hiatus aorticus is an opening in the diaphragm through which aorta and thoracic duct pass."

  4. 9
    A syllable break between two vowels, without an intervening consonant. sometimes, uncountable

    "A hiatus is agreeable to any Polynesian ear; the ear even of the stranger soon grows used to these barbaric voids; but only in the Marquesan will you find such names as Haaii and Paaaeua, when each individual vowel must be separately uttered."

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin hiātus (“opening”) (mid-16th century), from hiō (“stand open, yawn”).

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