pandiculation

/pænˌdɪkjəˈleɪʃən/

If you've ever awoken in the morning, yawned, and stretched your arms, you've experienced pandiculation.

Use the noun pandiculation to describe the particular sleepy combination of yawning and stretching. It's a somewhat obscure but impressive way to talk about a universal phenomenon. Animals are prone to pandiculation too, extending their paws in a stretch and yawning widely. The Latin root is pandiculari, "to stretch oneself," from pandere, "to stretch."

Definitions of pandiculation

1. noun

   yawning and stretching (as when first waking up)
   type of:

   stretch, stretching

   exercise designed to extend the limbs and muscles to their full extent

   oscitance, oscitancy, yawn, yawning

   an involuntary intake of breath through a wide open mouth; usually triggered by fatigue or boredom