Hypertext Webster Gateway: "hiatus"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Hiatus \Hi*a"tus\, n.; pl. L. {Hiatus}, E. {Hiatuses}. [L., fr.
hiare, hiatum, to gape; akin to E. yawn. See {Yawn}.]
1. An opening; an aperture; a gap; a chasm; esp., a defect in
a manuscript, where some part is lost or effaced; a space
where something is wanting; a break.
2. (Gram.) The concurrence of two vowels in two successive
words or syllables. --Pope.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
hiatus
n 1: an interruption in the intensity or amount of something
[syn: {suspension}, {respite}, {reprieve}, {abatement}]
2: a missing piece (as a gap in a manuscript)
3: a natural opening or perforation through a bone or a
membranous structure [syn: {foramen}]
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