A (from Latin ''hiatus, -us, m.'': gap; cf. hiare, hio, hiavi (hisco); Greek (χαίνω) έ-χαν-ον, κέχηνα; Old High German ginēn; German 'gähnen' -> "yawn") is a suspension or interruption in the intensity or amount of something.
For use in a television context, see Hiatus .
In other contexts, hiatus may mean:
- A time gap in geological strata (usually a break in the deposition of sediment).
- A natural fissure in a bone (see Foramen ).
- A small difference in pitch between two musical tones (see Interval (music) )
- Hiatus (linguistics) , a phonological term referring to the lack of a consonant separating two vowels in separate syllables, as in ''co-operation''.
- Esophageal Hiatus , the defect in the diaphragm through which the esophagus passes from the thorax into the abdomen.
- A Euphemism for Unemployment .
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