cavern

English

Etymology

FromMiddle Englishcaverne,borrowing fromOld Frenchcaverne,fromLatincaverna(“hollow, cavity, cave”),fromcavus(“hollow, excavated, concave”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation)enPR:kăv'ən,IPA^(key):/ˈkav.ən/,/ˈkav.n̩/

• Audio(Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American)enPR:kăv'ərn,IPA^(key):/ˈkæv.ɚn/,/ˈkæv.ɹən/
• Rhymes:-ævə(ɹ)n

Noun

cavern(pluralcaverns)

1. Alargecave.
2. Anundergroundchamber.
   • 1797,S[amuel] T[aylor] Coleridge,“Kubla Khan: Or A Vision in a Dream”,inChristabel: Kubla Khan, a Vision: The Pains of Sleep,London:[…]John Murray,[…],byWilliam Bulmer and Co.[…],published1816,→OCLC,page55:

     In Xanadu didKubla Khan/ A stately pleasure-dome decree: / WhereAlph,the sacred river, ran / Throughcavernsmeasureless to man / Down to a sunless sea.

3. Alarge,darkplaceorspace.

   a darkcavernof a shop

Derived terms

• cavernful
• cavernicolous
• cavernitis
• cavernlike
• cavernoma
• cavernous
• incaverned
• mesocavern

Translations

large cave

• Bulgarian:пещера(bg)f(peštera)
• Catalan:cavernaf
• Chinese:

  Mandarin:ĐạiSơn động(dà shāndòng)

• Dutch:grot(nl)f,krocht(nl)f,hol(nl)n
• Esperanto:kaverno
• Finnish:luola(fi)
• French:caverne(fr)f,grotte(fr)f
• German:großeHöhle(de)f,Grotte(de)f
• Guaraní:yvykua
• Hungarian:kaverna(hu)
• Ido:kaverno(io)
• Latgalian:olaf
• Latin:cavernaf,antrumn,specusm
• Middle English:caverne
• Occitan:balma(oc)f
• Ojibwe:waazh,waanzh
• Plautdietsch:Heelf
• Polish:jaskinia(pl)f
• Portuguese:caverna(pt)f
• Romanian:cavernă(ro)f,peșteră(ro)f,grotă(ro)f
• Russian:пеще́ра(ru)f(peščéra),грот(ru)m(grot)
• Slovene:jama(sl)f,jama(sl)
• Spanish:caverna(es)f
• Swedish:grotta(sv)c
• Turkish:büyükmağara(tr)

underground chamber

• Bulgarian:пещерна зала(pešterna zala)
• Catalan:cavernaf
• Chinese:

  Mandarin:NgầmChỗ sâu trong／NgầmChỗ sâu trong(dìxià shēnchù)

• Finnish:luola(fi)
• German: (manmade)Kaverne(de)f
• Latgalian:olaf,zamzemisolaf
• Latin:cavernaf
• Portuguese:caverna(pt)f
• Russian:каве́рна(ru)f(kavérna)
• Spanish:caverna(es)f
• Swedish:bergrumn(blasted),grottrum(natural),grottkammare(natural),jordkula(sv)c(dwelling, usually)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions atWiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Irish:^{(pleaseverify)}cuasánm,^{(pleaseverify)}fothollm,^{(pleaseverify)}polladhm

Verb

cavern(third-person singular simple presentcaverns,present participlecaverning,simple past and past participlecaverned)

1. (transitive)To form acavernordeepdepressionin.

   Synonym:hollow

   catacombscaverningthe hillsides

2. (transitive)To put into acavern.

References

• “cavern”,inLexico,Dictionary;Oxford University Press,2019–2022.
• “cavern”,inMerriam-Webster Online Dictionary,Springfield, Mass.:Merriam-Webster,1996–present.

Anagrams

• Craven,carven,craven