Volcanoes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A natural mountain or hill having an opening through which lava, gas, and ash periodically erupt from the earth's interior
2. A landform created by the accumulation of erupted material such as lava and ash expelled from fissures in the planet's crust
3. A geological structure characterized by vents that release molten rock and gases onto the surface during eruptions

Etymology: "Volcanoes" is the regular plural of "volcano," which English borrowed from Italian "vulcano." That Italian word comes from Latin "Vulcanus," the name of the Roman god of fire and metalworking, whose forge was imagined as working beneath the earth. The name was first attached to the island of Vulcano in the Aeolian islands off Sicily, which was named for the god. Its eruptions gave the general term for any mountain that expels fire, ash, and molten rock.

Synonyms: volcanos