dying gasp en · NOUN
Meanings
- The last breath taken before death.
-
(figuratively) The last moments, or final period, of something that becomes obsolete or inactive.
To replace logarithmic tables with natural tables required some time. This seems like a modern age, yet I am not an octogenarian and I can remember the dying gasp of the logarithmic table as the standard method of computation. I have seen the desk calculator become a necessary instrument for every scientist who is doing quantitative work.
1951, IBM Corp., Proceedings, Computation Seminar, page 13:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| dying gasps | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Translations (3)
es boqueada (the last breath taken before death) · mi manawa kiore (the last breath taken before death) · mi tuamatangi (the last breath taken before death)