oscitancy

oscitancy
oscitancy [äs′ə tən sē]
n.
< L oscitans, prp. of oscitare, to yawn < os, a mouth + citare, to move: see CITE
drowsiness, dullness, apathy, etc.

* * *

os·ci·tan·cy (ŏsʹĭ-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 kei-2.   osʹci·tant adj.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Oscitancy — Os ci*tan*cy, n. [See {Oscitant}.] [1913 Webster] 1. The act of gaping or yawning. [1913 Webster] 2. Drowsiness; dullness; sluggishness. Hallam. [1913 Webster] It might proceed from the oscitancy of transcribers. Addison. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • oscitancy — index inertia, languor Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • oscitancy — [äs′ə tən sē] n. [< L oscitans, prp. of oscitare, to yawn < os, a mouth + citare, to move: see CITE] drowsiness, dullness, apathy, etc …   English World dictionary

  • oscitancy — noun 1. drowsiness and dullness manifested by yawning • Syn: ↑oscitance • Derivationally related forms: ↑oscitant • Hypernyms: ↑sleepiness, ↑drowsiness, ↑somnolence, ↑dullness …   Useful english dictionary

  • oscitancy — n. 1. Gaping, yawning, oscitation. 2. Sleepiness, drowsiness, dulness …   New dictionary of synonyms

  • oscitancy — os·ci·tan·cy …   English syllables

  • oscitancy —   n. yawning; sleepiness; dullness.    ♦ oscitant, a.    ♦ oscitation, n …   Dictionary of difficult words

  • oscitant — oscitancy, oscitance, n. /os i teuhnt/, adj. 1. yawning, as with drowsiness; gaping. 2. drowsy or inattentive. 3. dull, lazy, or negligent. [1615 25; < L oscitant (s. of oscitans) (prp. of oscitare to gape, yawn), equiv. to os mouth + cit(are) to …   Universalium

  • oscitance — noun 1. drowsiness and dullness manifested by yawning • Syn: ↑oscitancy • Derivationally related forms: ↑oscitant (for: ↑oscitancy) • Hypernyms: ↑sleepiness, ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • yawning — I noun 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 • Syn: ↑yawn,… …   Useful english dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”