Caverns

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈkæ.və(ɹ)nz/

Definitions

1. Expansive, dark subterranean spaces shaped by geological forces
2. Significant underground voids that often connect through a complex system
3. Vast empty spaces found beneath the earth's surface, often formed by natural erosion or geological processes

Etymology: "Caverns" is simply the plural of "cavern," so its story is really the story of the singular form. The word arrived in Middle English as "caverne," taken from Old French "caverne," which in turn came from Latin "caverna," meaning a hollow, cavity, or cave. That Latin noun was built from "cavus," meaning hollow, excavated, or concave, a word that also gave English "cave" and "cavity" by other routes. The Latin root is about shape rather than place. A "cavus" thing is simply something scooped out or hollowed, which is why the same family of words covers both a hole in a tooth and a vast subterranean chamber. "Caverns" keeps that sense of a large hollow space, and the plural form simply points to several such spaces, often linked together.

Synonyms: caves, grottoes, hollows