hiccup English · revision 2191

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈhɪkʌp/, /ˈhɪkəp/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ Of imitative origin.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) It is a variant of earlier ''hicket'' (1540) and ''hyckock'' (1538),^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) and parallel to French ''hoquet'', Middle Dutch ''hick'', Danish ''hikke'' and Swedish ''hicka''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) The spelling ''hiccough'' (1626) comes from a mistaken association with ''cough''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An involuntary spasm of the diaphragm checked by the closing of the glottis, with a characteristic sound (1580).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate) Etymonline dates the form ''hickop'' to the 1570s.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The modern spelling ''hiccup'' is first recorded in 1788.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) Etymonline notes that an Old English word for hiccups, ''ælfsogoða'', blamed them on elves.^(Etymonline) The figurative sense “a brief interruption, a minor setback”, as in the stock market, dates from 1965.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1538 – ''hyckock''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1540 – ''hicket''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1580 – ''hickop'', the spasm; also the verb.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1626 – the spelling ''hiccough''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1788 – the spelling ''hiccup''; verb, to utter with hiccups.^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1965 – a minor interruption or setback.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A spasm of the diaphragm causing a quick inhalation that is suddenly stopped by the closing of the glottis, with a sharp sound; also the sound itself.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(usually plural)'' An attack of such spasms.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # A minor difficulty, interruption or setback.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To make a hiccup, or a sound like one.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To have an attack of hiccups.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The spelling ''hiccough'' is an accepted variant, but is pronounced the same way as ''hiccup''.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}