Meaning

originFrom Middle English yexen, yixen, yesken, from Old English ġeocsian, ġiscian (“to hiccup”), from Proto-West Germanic *giskōn (“to yawn”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵeys- (“gaping, cracked”). Cognate with Middle Low German gischen (“to sob, sigh”), Middle High German geschen, gischen (“to yawn, gape”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0