the.com/yawning
the involuntary jaw-stretch that spreads like gossip and refuses to be ignored
means The act of opening your mouth wide and taking a deep, involuntary breath, usually triggered by tiredness, boredom, or simply seeing someone else do it.
from From the Old English verb ǣonian, "to gape or open wide," rooted in a Germanic family of words about yawning chasms and gaping mouths — a cousin of "yawn's" cavernous relative "yawning gulf." The whole cluster traces back to an ancient root meaning "to gape," the same deep source that gives Latin its hiare (to gape) and even, distantly, the word "chasm." So when you yawn, you're quite literally opening a small abyss.
- contagious
- Seeing or reading about it can trigger one
- in the womb
- Fetuses yawn before they're born
- brain coolant
- May lower brain temperature, not boredom
- cross-species
- Dogs, cats, even fish do it
- empathy link
- More contagious among close friends
contagious yawning — humans yawn 5x more when watching others yawn; studied at university of tufts with 328 participants
hippopotamus yawn threat — hippos open mouths 150 degrees wide as intimidation display, not fatigue, in african rivers