See Also: Hiccup(medicine)
Hiccup(health)
hiccup(1)(dictionary)
hiccup(2)(dictionary)
hiccup(encyclopedia)
epidemic hiccup(medicine)
hiccup 1, noun(dictionary)
hiccup 2, verb(dictionary)

hiccup(1) (iou)



hiccup noun. Also hiccough. L16.
[Imit.: cf. Old Norse hixti noun, hixta verb, Dutch hik, hikken, Swedish hicka, Danish hik(ke), Russian ikat', French hoquet. The form hiccough is due to assim. to COUGH noun. Cf. HICKET.]
An involuntary spasm of the respiratory muscles, consisting in a quick inspiratory movement of the diaphragm checked suddenly by closure of the glottis, producing a characteristic sound. Also (orig. sing., now usu. in pl.: often with the), affliction with a succession of such spasms. L16.
P. P. Read The hiccups of suppressed laughter.
fig. A temporary minor setback or stoppage. M20.
J. Higgins The nonsense over Tanya Voroninova had been an unfortunate hiccup in his career.
Comb.: hiccup-nut S. Afr. an ornamental scarlet-flowered shrub, Combretum bracteosum (family Combretaceae); its fruit, said to cause violent hiccups.
hiccupy adjective marked by hiccups M19.