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.