cavern

cavern
/kav"euhrn/, n.
1. a cave, esp. one that is large and mostly underground.
2. Pathol. a cavity that is produced by disease, esp. one produced in the lungs by tuberculosis.
v.t.
3. to enclose in or as if in a cavern.
4. to hollow out to form a cavern.
[1325-75; ME caverne < L caverna, equiv. to cav(us) hollow + -erna, as in cisterna CISTERN]

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • cavern — [kav′ərn] n. [ME & OFr caverne < L caverna < cavus: see CAVE] a cave, esp. a large cave vt. 1. to enclose in or as in a cavern 2. to hollow out: often with out …   English World dictionary

  • Cavern — Cav ern, n. [L. caverna, fr. cavus hollow: cf. F. caverne.] A large, deep, hollow place in the earth; a large cave. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • cavern — late 14c., from O.Fr. caverne (12c.) cave, vault, cellar, from L.L. caverna cave, from L. cavus (see CAVE (Cf. cave)). In O.E. such a land feature might be called an eorðscræf …   Etymology dictionary

  • cavern — [n] hollow in land formation cave, grotto, hole, pothole, subterrane, subterranean area; concept 509 …   New thesaurus

  • cavern — ► NOUN 1) a large cave, or chamber in a cave. 2) a vast, dark space. DERIVATIVES cavernous adjective. ORIGIN Latin caverna, from cavus hollow …   English terms dictionary

  • cavern — [[t]kæ̱və(r)n[/t]] caverns 1) N COUNT A cavern is a large deep cave. 2) N COUNT If you describe the inside of a building or a room as a cavern, you mean that it is very large and, usually, dark or without much furniture. The kitchen now is a dark …   English dictionary

  • cavern — I. noun Etymology: Middle English caverne, from Middle French, from Latin caverna, from cavus Date: 14th century cave; especially one of large or indefinite extent II. transitive verb Date: circa 1630 1. to place in or as if in a cavern 2 …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • cavern — UK [ˈkævə(r)n] / US [ˈkævərn] noun [countable] Word forms cavern : singular cavern plural caverns a large cave …   English dictionary

  • cavern — cav•ern [[t]ˈkæv ərn[/t]] n. 1) gel a cave, esp. one that is large and mostly underground 2) to enclose in or as if in a cavern 3) to form a cavern of (often fol. by out) • Etymology: 1325–75; ME caverne < L caverna=cav(us) hollow + erna, as… …   From formal English to slang

  • cavern —    1. Underground opening in soluble rock similar to a cave. When used as a noun, it refers to large openings, but when used as an adjective it tends to refer to rock texture and so to small openings. However, in some countries (e.g., Russia)… …   Lexicon of Cave and Karst Terminology

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