hiatus

Hiatus is a term used across disciplines to denote a gap or interruption that is recognized as a defined feature of a system. The word comes from Latin hiatus, meaning "a gap" or "an opening," from hiare, "to gape." In general usage, hiatus can refer to a temporary break in activity, such as a television series taking a hiatus between seasons, a school or research project pausing for a period of time, or an artist delaying new work.

In linguistics and phonology, hiatus describes a situation where two vowel sounds occur in adjacent syllables with no intervening consonant or glide to link them. This contrasts with forms that create a single syllable through a glide or diphthong. The occurrence and treatment of hiatus vary by language and dialect.

In anatomy, a hiatus is an opening or gap in a structure that permits the passage of vessels, nerves, or organs. Common examples are the esophageal hiatus and the aortic hiatus in the diaphragm, and the caval hiatus for the inferior vena cava.

In other contexts, hiatus can refer to a significant gap in continuity within a process, institution, or publication schedule.

See also: intermission, gap, opening.