hiation

H4I1A1T1I1O1N1
/haɪˈeɪʃən/

noun

The act of gaping; a wide open mouth.

OriginEnglish hiate ← Latin hiō, hiāre, hiāvī, hiātum ← Proto-Italic *hiāō →
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Meanings

nounhiation (plural hiations)

plural hiations

  1. obsoleteThe act of gaping; a wide open mouth.

    the continual hiation or holding open its mouth, which men observing, conceive the intention thereof to receive the aliment of air

    1650, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰeh₂-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰh₂iéh₂yeti
  3. Proto-Italic*hiāō
  4. Latinhiō, hiāre, hiāvī, hiātum
  5. Englishhiate
  6. Englishhiation

From hiate + -ion.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

hiation. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hiation

MLA

“hiation.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hiation. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hiation,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hiation.

Source: hiation on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.