cave French · revision 17616

+ Two words ''cave'' come from [[la|cavus|t=hollow]]: the cellar, borrowed from its late Latin feminine noun, and the learned adjective “hollow”.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ {{homograph|1|cellar}}

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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1170|origins=la cavus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kav/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''cave''' ''f'' (plural caves)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The cellar is [[bor|la-lat|cava|t=ditch]] (6th century), the feminine noun formed from the neuter plural [[m|la|cava|t=hollows]] of the adjective [[m|la|cavus|t=hollow]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005) Medieval Latin used the form [[m|la-med|cavea]] for a storeroom (1058), a mine shaft and a box.^(DHLF 1992) Cognate with [[pcd|gove]], [[pro|cava]], [[es|cava]] and [[it|cava]].^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is recorded about 1170 for a hole or cave; the Books of Kings have Saul enter ''une cave grande'' to rest.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The general sense “hollow, cave” and the sense “burial vault”, usual until the 16th century, gave way to [[caverne]], [[cavité]] and [[caveau]].^(DHLF 1992) The word narrowed to the underground room where provisions and wine are kept (about 1250, uncertainly; 1360–1370); in Canadian French it names any basement room (''cave à patates'').^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007) By analogy it named a case for wines and liqueurs (1669), and by metonymy the stock of wines in a cellar (1798).^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007) After the Liberation (1945) it named a cellar fitted out as a nightclub, at first in Paris.^(DHLF 1992)^(Larousse)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1170 – “Hole, cave”.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ * c. 1250 – An underground storeroom.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1669 – ''Cave à liqueurs''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1798 – The wines kept in a cellar.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1945 – A cellar nightclub.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|cellar|alt=cellar]], an underground room under a house: ''cave voûtée'', ''de la cave au grenier'', from top to bottom.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Le Robert)

+ # A wine cellar, and the wines kept in it: ''avoir du vin en cave'', ''la cave d'un restaurant''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Le Robert)

+ # A cabinet or appliance for keeping wine, ''cave à liqueurs'', ''cave à cigares'', a case for liqueurs or cigars.^(Larousse)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # A nightclub in a cellar.^(Larousse)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''(Canada)'' A basement.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[caveau]]

+ * [[caviste]]

+ * [[encaver]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|hollow}}

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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1170|origins=la cavus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kav/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''cave''' (plural caves)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The adjective is [[bor|la|cavus|t=hollow]], a word in use throughout Latin and compared with Greek words for hollows and cavities.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is found from about 1170;^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) ''yeux caves'', sunken eyes, are recorded in the 14th century.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word is hardly used except of parts of the body, and in anatomy in ''veine cave'' (Robert Estienne, 1538).^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi) Astronomers used it for a lunar month or year that is not full: ''année cave'', ''mois cave'' (1708), ''lune cave'' (1751).^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1170 – First recorded.^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * 14th century – ''Yeux caves''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1538 – ''Veine cave''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1708 – ''Année cave'', ''mois cave''.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # ''(literary)'' [[m|en|hollow|alt=Hollow]], sunken: ''joues caves'', ''yeux caves''.^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''(anatomy)'' ''Veine cave'': the [[m|en|vena cava]], each of the two great veins bringing blood to the heart.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''(astronomy, old)'' Of a lunar month or year, not full.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[caverne]]

+ * [[cavité]]

+ * [[creux]]

+ * [[la|cavus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In slang ''un cave'' (about 1882) is a dupe, and then someone who is not part of the underworld; the GLLF derives it from ''cavé'', the past participle of ''caver'', a gambling term, which also meant “to cheat”.^(GLLF 1989)^(TLFi)^(Larousse) In Quebec it is a familiar word for a fool.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}