excavation

Forms

excavation f (plural excavations)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin excavātiō (“hollow, cavity”), a word of imperial Latin,^[2][3][4][5] formed on the supine of excavō (“to hollow out”),^[3][4][5] from ex- and cavō (“to hollow”), from cavus (“hollow”).^[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1566, in Du Pinet, meaning a hollow or cavity in the ground.^[4][3][2][5]

Semantic evolution

The concrete sense “hollow in the ground”, natural or dug, came first;^[4][5] Furetière records the action of digging the ground in 1690.^[4][5] Both senses also extend to other materials than earth: medicine speaks of the excavation of a tissue in tuberculosis.^[2] The Petit Robert marks the sense “action of digging” as rare today, the hollow being the usual meaning.^[6] The family later gained excavateur (1843), taken from the Anglo-American excavator, and excavatrice (20th century).^[5]

Timeline

• 1566 – First recorded, in Du Pinet, for a hollow in the ground.^[4][3]
• 1690 – Furetière records the sense “action of digging”.^[4][5]
• 1843 – Excavateur is taken from Anglo-American English.^[5]
• 1932 – The Académie illustrates the sense with craters dug by shells in a field.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (rare) The action of digging or excavating the ground, or another material.^[2][6][7]
2. A hollow, cavity or hole, especially in the ground, natural or man-made: une excavation creusée par une bombe.^[2][6][7][8]
3. Excavation minière: any cavity dug in the course of mining, open-cast or underground.^[7]

Related words

• excaver
• excavateur
• excavatrice
• cave²
• cavité
• Latin excavātiō

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
8. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)