Hypertext Webster Gateway: "yawning"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Yawn \Yawn\ (y[add]n), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Yawned}; p. pr. &
vb. n. {Yawning}.] [OE. yanien, [yogh]anien, ganien, gonien,
AS. g[=a]nian; akin to ginian to yawn, g[=i]nan to yawn, open
wide, G. g["a]hnen to yawn, OHG. gin[=e]n, gein[=o]n, Icel.
g[=i]na to yawn, gin the mouth, OSlav. zijati to yawn, L.
hiare to gape, yawn; and perhaps to E. begin, cf. Gr. cheia`
a hole. [root]47b. Cf. Begin, Gin to begin, {Hiatus}.]
1. To open the mouth involuntarily through drowsiness,
dullness, or fatigue; to gape; to oscitate. ``The lazy,
yawning drone.'' --Shak.
And while above he spends his breath, The yawning
audience nod beneath. --Trumbull.
2. To open wide; to gape, as if to allow the entrance or exit
of anything.
't is now the very witching time of night, When
churchyards yawn. --Shak.
3. To open the mouth, or to gape, through surprise or
bewilderment. --Shak.
4. To be eager; to desire to swallow anything; to express
desire by yawning; as, to yawn for fat livings. ``One
long, yawning gaze.'' --Landor.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
yawning
adj 1: gaping open as if threatening to engulf someone or
something; "the yawning mine shaft"; "a yawning abyss"
2: with the mouth wide open indicating boredom or sleepiness;
"a yawning congregation"
3: showing lack of attention or boredom; "the yawning
congregation" [syn: {drowsy}, {oscitant}, {yawning(a)}]
n : an involuntary intake of breath through a wide open mouth;
usually triggered by fatigue or boredom [syn: {yawn}]
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