Definition of hiatus

The word "hiatus" originated from the Latin language, where it was originally spelled as "hiātus." It could be traced back to around the 16th century when Latin words began to enter the English language through scholarship and scholarship-related endeavors. In Latin, "hiātus" referred to a pause, break, or gap, typically in a literary or musical context. Specifically, it was used to describe the interruption in the normal flow of a work, resulting in a temporary cessation or suspension. When the word was adopted into the English language in the 16th century, it preserved its original meaning. Early dictionary definitions in the 17th century listed "hiatus" as meaning "a chasm, yawning, or gap" or "an opening or interval." The medical community took hold of the word in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, coopting it to describe a pause, interruption, or suspension in a physiological process or condition. In this context, it came to be defined as a disruption or impairment of a normal cellular or bodily process or function. Today, in a variety of contexts, from literature and music theory to medicine and physics, we continue to use the term "hiatus" to describe a pause, break, or gap in a process, sequence, or proceeding. Its origins, however, remain rooted in Latin, where the word first came to represent a rupture, split, or opening in a text or performance.