Shakeholes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A depression or hole formed in the ground, typically as a result of soil or rock collapsing due to the dissolution of underlying limestone or other soluble materials
2. A natural geological feature resembling a pit or hollow, often occurring in karst landscapes as water erodes the surface, creating voids
3. An area where the ground has subsided due to the instability of the substrate, leading to the creation of a notable geological cavity or depression

Etymology: Shakeholes are named for the way they form: a limestone or other soluble rock beneath the surface gradually dissolves, and the ground above eventually gives way into a hollow. The sense of "shake" here is that the ground seems to have shaken or sunk away, but the word itself is a plain compound of "shake" and "hole," with no hidden Latin or Greek ancestry behind it. Because "shakehole" is a transparent compound, its history is mostly a matter of its two parts, both of which are native English words with long histories. "Hole" descends from Old English "hol," while "shake" comes from Old English "scacan," meaning to move or be moved rapidly. Combined, they describe a hollow that has, in effect, shaken itself loose from the surrounding ground. The plural "shakeholes" is simply the regular plural of "shakehole," formed by adding "-s" to the noun.