Link Centre Dictionary

hiccup

hic·cup

UK/ˈhɪkʌp/ US/ˈhɪkəp/ fairly common informal
noun (1) verb (1)

noun

1.

(usually plural) the state of having reflex spasms of the diaphragm accompanied by a rapid closure of the glottis producing an audible sound; sometimes a symptom of indigestion

  • “how do you cure the hiccups?”
Synonyms

verb

1.

breathe spasmodically, and make a sound

  • “When you have to hiccup, drink a glass of cold water”
Synonyms

Origin

From earlier hickop, alteration of earlier hicket, hyckock, from hic (onomatopoeic) + -ock (diminutive suffix). Akin to Scots hick, hix (“hiccup”), West Frisian hik (“hiccup”), Dutch hik (“hiccup”), Middle Low German hükup, huckup, hueckup (modern Low German hick (“hiccup”)), German hicksen (“to hiccup”, verb), Alemannic German Hidsgi (“hiccup”), Danish hikke (“hiccup”), Swedish hicka (“hiccup”), hicka (“to hiccup”, verb), Icelandic hiksti (“hiccup”). Displaced yex, from Middle English yexen, ȝisken, ȝixen, ȝoxen (“to hiccup”), from Old English ġiscian, ġeocsian (“to hiccup”).

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.