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Glite Dictionary
🕳️ With a gap 🔤 With two vowels
hiatal

hiatal

1 8.7
Relating to an opening in the diaphragm that lets part of the stomach move up
  • adjective
  • /haɪˈeɪtəl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : hiatal
  • The X-rays turned up an esophageal tear, commonly known as a hiatal hernia, right there.
  • hiatal hernia

Something called a hiatal hernia, which means some of your organs push up and that can cause symptoms of heartburn.

Examples

  • Most guys my age have reflux problems and hiatal hernias.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • For the repair of the hiatal defect, it can habitually be carried out with loose points.

    Academic text (2007)

  • Something called a hiatal hernia, which means some of your organs push up and that can cause symptoms of heartburn.

    Dr. Josh Axe

  • Could you get this hiatal hernia, say, by being squeezed between someone's legs?

    The War of the Roses (1989)

  • When the doctor explained that his symptoms were due to a hiatal hernia, he felt relieved to finally understand the cause of his discomfort.

  • She learned that her frequent heartburn could be a sign of a hiatal hernia, which occurs when part of the stomach pushes through the diaphragm.

  • Many older adults experience issues related to a hiatal hernia, including acid reflux and difficulty swallowing.

Compounds

hiatal hernia
  • Specialized
1 5.6

A part of the stomach that pushes up through the diaphragm into the chest

Surface Forms

hiatal positive

Morphology

hiatal = hiatus (transparent) = hiatus + al

This is a regular adjective formed from the noun 'hiatus' plus '-al', so the meaning 'relating to a gap/opening' is directly recoverable from the base.

Etymology

The word hiatal comes from the Latin hiatus, which means 'a gap' or 'opening', and from hiare, 'to open' or 'to gape'. That's why a hiatal hernia means part of the stomach pushes through an opening in the diaphragm, so the word points to that gap.