Link Centre Dictionary

oscitancy

os·ci·tancy

uncommon

noun

1.

drowsiness and dullness manifested by yawning

Synonyms
2.

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 ostinancy”

Origin

From Latin oscitans + -cy, present participle of ōscitō (“to yawn, gape, open the mouth”), from Latin os (“the mouth”).

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