Cave

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /keɪv/

Definitions

1. A natural underground hollow or passage in rock, typically formed by erosion and often large enough for humans to enter
2. A large natural void or chamber located beneath the earth's surface, usually created through geological processes, which may also serve as a shelter for various species
3. An underground cavity or hollow space formed within rock formations, often resulting from erosive action over time and providing habitats for wildlife

Etymology: Before "cave" meant a hollow in the earth, it was a Latin adjective: "cavus", meaning "hollow." Its noun form, "cava" ("cavity"), passed into Old French as "cave," and English borrowed it in the Middle Ages. The word was not the first choice for the English countryside, though. It displaced the native Old English "sċræf," which survives only in older dictionaries and sounds nothing like it today. The word is related to some surprisingly distant relatives. Its cognates include Ancient Greek "kúar," meaning "eye of a needle" or "earhole," and Sanskrit "śūnya," meaning "empty" and also, in later usage, "zero." All of them grow from the same idea of a hollow space. The same Latin root gave English "cavity" and "cavern," and there is a neat twist in the verb. A separate Latin word, "cavē," the imperative of "caveō" ("to beware"), entered English as a learned borrowing and is still used at Eton College, where it is a warning shouted by the older boys. Two Latin words, one meaning "hollow" and one meaning "beware," sit side by side in English.

Synonyms: grotto, cavern