Hiatus comes from the Latin hio, which means a yawning or an opening.
A familiar-looking sister word is portal.
Think: a yawning grave.
Now that is an interesting portal.
Hiatus is also familiar to anatomical language, referring to an opening, especially in an organ.
e.g. the Hiatus aorticus is a hole in your diaphragm.
Your aorta goes through there.
All your life blood goes through a hole in the thing that gives you breath.
How about that.