pandiculation

English
Joseph Ducreux pandiculating; self-portrait ca 1783

Etymology

pandiculate +‎ -ion

Pronunciation

Rhymes: -eɪʃən

Noun

pandiculation (countable and uncountable, plural pandiculations)

  1. A stretching and stiffening of the trunk and extremities, as when fatigued and drowsy or on waking, often accompanied by yawning.
    • 1993, John Banville, Ghosts
      If I were a visitor from another planet - but then, am I not a visitor from another planet? - I think that of all the earthlings' quirks it is the act of pandiculation that would surprise and fascinate me most, that slow stretch and then the soundless ape-howl, in which they indulge themselves with such languorous relish.

Translations

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for pandiculation in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.)

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