Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1500-1600
Language: Latin
Origin: hiare 'to yawn'

hiatus

 noun
     
hi‧a‧tus [countable usually singular]
1 formal a break or interruption in an activity:
Talks between the two countries have resumed after a six-year hiatus.
hiatus in
a hiatus in research
a brief/short/long hiatus
There was a brief hiatus in the war.
2 technical a space where something is missing, especially in a piece of writing
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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