LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinefourth declension

hiātus

hiātus m (genitive hiātūs)
Classical[hiˈaː.tʊs]Ecclesiastical[iˈaː.tus]

Meaning

  1. a hiatus, opening (especially of the mouth), gap, aperture, cleft
  2. a longing, desire

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativehiātushiātūs
genitivehiātūshiātuum
dativehiātuīhiātibus
accusativehiātumhiātūs
ablativehiātūhiātibus
vocativehiātushiātūs

hĭātus, ūs, m. id.,
I. an opening, aperture, cleft (class. in sing. and plur.; cf. rima, rictus).
I. Lit.: animalia cibum partim oris hiatu et dentibus ipsis capessunt, partim unguium tenacitate arripiunt, Cic. N. D. 2, 47, 122: oris, Suet. Claud. 27; Verg. A. 11, 680.—Without oris: ne immodicus hiatus rictum distendat, Quint. 1, 11, 9: extremus exspirantis, id. 6, 2, 31: Nemeaeus magnus hiatus Ille leonis, Lucr. 5, 24; cf.: quinquaginta atris immanis hiatibus Hydra, i. e. open mouths, Verg. A. 6, 576; Ov. M. 7, 557; 11, 61; Val. Fl. 1, 34: personae pallentis hiatus, Juv. 3, 175: magno sublimis pardus hiatu, id. 11, 123; Plin. 28, 4, 7, § 38; cf. of Boreas: imbres, sicco quos asper hiatu Persolidat Boreas, with a dry throat, dry breath, Stat. Th. 1, 352: repentini terrarum hiatus, Cic. N. D. 2, 5, 14: hauriri urbes terrae hiatibus, Plin. 36, 15, 24, § 119; cf.: qui (Gyges) descendit in illum hiatum, Cic. Off. 3, 9, 38: neu distracta (Natura) suum late dispandat hiatum, Lucr. 6, 599: quantum caeli patet altus hiatus, id. 4, 418; cf. id. 5, 375: fit et caeli ipsius hiatus, quod vocant chasma, Plin. 2, 26, 26, § 96: corticis bipedalis hiatus, id. 16, 12, 23, § 57: hiatus patuli fontis, i. e. basin, Ov. M. 3, 162: specus est tenebroso caecus hiatu, aperture, id. ib. 7, 409: veteris rimae cum texit hiatum, Juv. 3, 195.—Poet.: quid dignum tanto feret hic promissor hiatu? i. e. of such pompous language, high-flown style, Hor. A. P. 138; cf. Juv. 6, 636.—
II. Trop.
A. In gen., an eager desire, longing (so used by Tac.): libidine sanguinis et hiatu praemiorum, Tac. H. 4, 42.—
B. In partic., in gram., a hiatus: habet enim ille tamquam hiatus concursu vocalium molle quiddam et quod indicet non ingratam negligentiam, Cic. Or. 23, 77; Quint. 9, 4, 33: (Catullus) amans hiatus illius Homerici suavitatem, ebriosa dixit propter insequentis a litterae (verbi acinae) concentum, Gell. 7, 20, 6.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰeh₂-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰh₂iéh₂yeti
  3. Proto-Italic*hiāō
  4. Latinhiātus

Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Italic *-tus Latin -tus Latin hiātus From hiō + -tus.

Descendants
  • Catalanhiat
  • Englishhiatus
  • Frenchhiatus
  • Italianiato
  • Portuguesehiato
  • Romanianhiat
  • Spanishhiato

In English words that came into English from hiātus

  • hiatushiātus

Quick answers

What does hiātus mean in Latin?
hiātus, a noun, means “a hiatus, opening (especially of the mouth), gap, aperture, cleft; a longing, desire”.
What is the genitive of hiātus?
The genitive singular is hiātūs. hiātus is masculine, fourth declension.
How do you pronounce hiātus?
In classical Latin, [hiˈaː.tʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [iˈaː.tus].
Where does hiātus come from?
Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₂- → Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰh₂iéh₂yeti → Proto-Italic *hiāō → Latin hiātus.