pandiculation
Feb. 17th, 2015 07:58 ampandiculation (pan-dik-yuh-LAY-shun) - n., the act of stretching while yawning, as when first waking.
Sometimes used as if it means just yawning, but properly it's the stretching part -- and need not be done with a yawn. But it's the kind of stretch, with extended arms and stiffened trunk, that goes with a yawn. Adopted in the 1640s from Latin pandiculātus, past participle of pandiculārī, to stretch oneself, derivative of pandere, to stretch.
---L.
Sometimes used as if it means just yawning, but properly it's the stretching part -- and need not be done with a yawn. But it's the kind of stretch, with extended arms and stiffened trunk, that goes with a yawn. Adopted in the 1640s from Latin pandiculātus, past participle of pandiculārī, to stretch oneself, derivative of pandere, to stretch.
---L.