Oscitate

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To involuntarily open the mouth wide and breathe deeply, typically as a sign of tiredness or boredom
2. The act of opening the mouth wide while drawing in air, usually indicating fatigue or disinterest
3. An unconscious reflex involving a wide open mouth and deep inhalation often linked to drowsiness or dullness

Etymology: "Oscitate" is a rare English word, first recorded in 1623, that describes the wide, jaw-cracking yawn of tiredness or boredom. It was borrowed directly from Latin "oscitatus," the past participle of "oscitare," and the Latin verb was built from two parts that sound almost like a description of the action itself: "os," meaning "mouth," and "citare," meaning "to set in motion" or "to cause to move." The Latin speaker was, in effect, describing a mouth set moving wide open. The English word therefore keeps the physical image intact. Where most yawning words in English are short and blunt, this one comes from a Latin construction that spells out the mechanics: the mouth is the thing that gets moved. The "-ate" ending is the ordinary English suffix used to turn Latin verbs into English ones, so the word is a straightforward borrowing rather than a coinage made by English writers.

Synonyms: yawn, gape