oscitancy
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os·ci·tan·cy
(ŏs′ĭ-tən-sē)n. pl. os·ci·tan·cies
1. The act of yawning.
2. The state of being drowsy or inattentive; dullness.
[From oscitant, yawning, from Latin ōscitāns, ōscitant-, present participle of ōscitāre, to yawn : ōs, mouth; see ōs- in Indo-European roots + citāre, to move; see keiə- in Indo-European roots.]
os′ci·tant adj.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
oscitancy
(ˈɒsɪtənsɪ) oroscitance
n, pl -tancies or -tances
Official name: oscitation 1. the state of being drowsy, lazy, or inattentive
2. the act of yawning
[C17: from Latin oscitāre to gape, yawn]
ˈoscitant adj
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
oscitancy
, pandiculation - Oscitancy is the act of yawning; pandiculation is an all-over stretching and yawning, as upon waking, from Latin pandere.See also related terms for stretching.
Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.
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| Noun | 1. | oscitancy - drowsiness and dullness manifested by yawning 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"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 |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.