hiatus

In television vernacular, when a show goes on hiatus it usually means "we're undecided on when we should cancel it".

A period in which one takes extra time away from a job, activity, or responsibility. A hiatus is like an extended vacation, usually taken for personal reasons, like family emergencies, burnout, medical troubles, or unavoidable absences. An employer will let someone take a hiatus from their job with the understanding that the employee will be back as soon as possible -- a hiatus is meant to be temporary, not permanent.

Hi*a"tus (?), n.; pl. L. Hiatus, E. Hiatuses (#). [L., fr. hiare, hiatum, to gape; akin to E. yawn. See Yawn.]

1.

An opening; an aperture; a gap; a chasm; esp., a defect in a manuscript, where some part is lost or effaced; a space where something is wanting; a break.

2. Gram.

The concurrence of two vowels in two successive words or syllables.

Pope.

© Webster 1913.