Hiccuping

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The phenomenon characterized by involuntary diaphragm spasms producing a characteristic sound involves abrupt inhalations at irregular intervals
2. Experiencing repeated sudden spasms of the diaphragm causing a characteristic sound and interruption of breathing
3. Having involuntary jerking contractions of the diaphragm that create a distinctive noise and disrupt normal respiratory rhythm

Etymology: The sound "hic" is onomatopoeic, meaning the word was built to imitate the noise itself. English "hiccup" grew from it with the diminutive suffix "-ock", giving forms like "hickop" and earlier "hicket" and "hyckock". Similar words appear across the Germanic languages: Dutch "hik", Swedish "hicka", German "hicksen", and Icelandic "hiksti" all name the same spasm, which suggests the imitative root was widely shared. English also had a rival word. "Yex", from Middle English "yexen", came from Old English "giscian" and "geocsian", meaning "to hiccup", but it was displaced by "hiccup" and is now lost from ordinary speech. The spelling "hiccup" with a double c, rather than "ck", is a leftover from the spelling "hiccough", which was adopted because people wrongly assumed the word was connected to "cough".

Synonyms: gasping, sputtering, snapping