oscitancy (redirected from oscitancies)

os·ci·tan·cy  (s-tn-s)

n. pl. os·ci·tan·cies

1. The act of yawning.

2. The state of being drowsy or inattentive; dullness.

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[From oscitant, yawning, from Latin scitns, scitant-, present participle of scitre, to yawn : s, mouth; see s- in Indo-European roots + citre, to move; see kei-² in Indo-European roots.]

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osci·tant adj.

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oscitancy [ˈɒsɪtənsɪ], oscitance

n pl -tancies, -tances

1. the state of being drowsy, lazy, or inattentive

2. the act of yawning Also called oscitation

[from Latin oscitāre to gape, yawn]

oscitant  adj

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	oscitancy - drowsiness and dullness manifested by yawning oscitance dullness, obtuseness - the quality of being slow to understand drowsiness, sleepiness, somnolence - a very sleepy state; "sleepiness causes many driving accidents"
	2.	oscitancy - an involuntary intake of breath through a wide open mouth; usually triggered by fatigue or boredom; "he could not suppress a yawn"; "the yawning in the audience told him it was time to stop"; "he apologized for his oscitancy" yawn, yawning, oscitance pandiculation - yawning and stretching (as when first waking up) inborn reflex, innate reflex, instinctive reflex, physiological reaction, reflex, reflex action, reflex response, unconditioned reflex - an automatic instinctive unlearned reaction to a stimulus