Hiatus
English Meaning
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.
- A gap or interruption in space, time, or continuity; a break: "We are likely to be disconcerted by . . . hiatuses of thought” ( Edmund Wilson).
- Linguistics A slight pause that occurs when two immediately adjacent vowels in consecutive syllables are pronounced, as in reality and naive.
- Anatomy A separation, aperture, fissure, or short passage in an organ or body part.