hiccough—“
hiccup /ˈhikəp / HICCOUGH(‼️) I. noun 1. an involuntary spasm of the diaphragm and respiratory organs, with a sudden closure of the glottis and a characteristic sound like that of a cough. 2. (hiccups) — an attack of hiccups occurring repeatedly for some time • he got the hiccups. 3. a temporary or minor difficulty or setback • just a little hiccup in our usual wonderful service. II. verb — [no obj.] 1. suffer from or make the sound of a hiccup or series of hiccups. III. derivatives hiccupy adjective – origin late 16th cent.: imitative; the form hiccough arose by association with cough.
A hiccup (scientific name singultus, from Latin for "sob, hiccup"; also spelled hiccough) is an involuntary contraction (myoclonic jerk) of the diaphragm that may repeat several times per minute. The hiccup is an involuntary action involving a reflex arc.[1] Once triggered, the reflex causes a strong contraction of the diaphragm followed about a quarter of a second later by closure of the epiglottis,[citation needed] a structure inside of the throat, which results in the "hic" sound.
Hiccup
Other names
Singultus, hiccough, synchronous diaphragmatic flutter (SDF)
Pronunciation
/ˈhɪkəp, -ʌp/ HIK-əp, -up
Specialty
Otorhinolaryngology
Hiccups may occur individually or in bouts. The rhythm of the hiccup, or the time between hiccups, tends to be relatively constant. A bout of hiccups generally resolves itself without intervention, although many home remedies are often used to attempt to shorten the duration.[2] Medical treatment is occasionally necessary in cases of chronic hiccups
The word hiccup itself was created through imitation. The alternative spelling of hiccough results from the association with the word cough.[37]
American Charles Osborne (1894–1991) had hiccups for 68 years, from 1922 to 1990,[38] and was entered in the Guinness World Records as the man with the longest attack of hiccups, an estimated 430 million hiccups.[39]
In 2007, Florida teenager Jennifer Mee gained media fame for hiccuping around 50 times per minute for more than five weeks.[40][41]
British singer Christopher Sands hiccupped an estimated 10 million times in 27 months from February 2007 to May 2009. His condition, which meant that he could hardly eat or sleep, was eventually discovered to be caused by a tumor on his brain stem pushing on nerves, causing him to hiccup every two seconds, 12 hours a day. His hiccups stopped in 2009 following surgery.[42]
In Baltic, German, Hungarian, Indian, Romanian, Slavic, Turkish, Greek and Albanian tradition, as well as among some tribes in Kenya, for example in the folklore of the Luo people, it is said that hiccups occur when the person experiencing them is being talked about by someone not present
