1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Hiatus

HIATUS (Lat. for gaping, or gap), a break in continuity, whether in speech, thought or events, a lacuna. In anatomy the term is used for an opening or foramen, as the hiatus Fallopii, a foramen of the temporal bone. In logic a hiatus occurs when a step or link in reasoning is wanting; and in grammar it is the pause made for the sake of euphony in pronouncing two successive vowels, which are not separated by a consonant.