cavare Italian · revision 38876

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=late 13th century, Bonvesin da la Riva|origins=la cavus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /kaˈva.re/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''cavare''' (first-person singular present càvo, first-person singular past historic cavài, past participle cavàto, auxiliary avére)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|cavō|t=to hollow out, to dig]], from [[m|la|cavus|t=hollow]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The Latin verb lives on in Romance except Romanian and Sardinian: [[rm|chavar]], [[fro|chever]], [[pro|cavar]], [[ca|cavar]], [[es|cavar]] and [[pt|cavar]].^(LEI|13, 487)^(REW 1935)^(DEI|827) The modern [[fr|caver]] is a 16th-century loan from Italian.^(DEI|827)^(DIFIT)

+

+ The LEI argues that in the areas where Latin /v/ between vowels should have been lost, it was restored under the influence of prestigious cities, and that central Italian forms with /f/ for /v/ may show an Oscan substrate.^(LEI|13, 487) Meyer-Lübke and Prati connect Old Italian [[cafagnare|t=to dig holes for planting]] and the southern [[cafone]] with the same verb.^(REW 1935)^(Prati 1951|260)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is in the Milanese poems of Bonvesin da la Riva, of the late 13th century, and DEI notes a 12th-century record at Padua.^(TLIO)^(DEI|827) DELI dates the sense “to pull out, draw out by force” to Dante (1304–1308), who writes in the ''Purgatorio'' of ''terra che secca si cavi'', “earth that is dug out dry”.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The TLIO's senses show how far “to take out” spread in Old Italian: to free from a place or a trouble, to drive out of an office, to steal, to leave out of a reckoning, to draw lots for the officials of a commune, to take off clothes, to draw a profit or a lesson, and to dig.^(TLIO) Quarrying and mining kept the old sense: the ''Milione'' tells of a lake where pearls could be taken, but the Great Khan forbade it.^(GDLI) DELI dates “to take off” (clothes) to Franco Sacchetti, before 1400, and DIFIT adds a 16th-century sense “to pay out”.^(DELI 1999)^(DIFIT)

+

+ Many idioms grew from the verb: ''cavarsela'', to get out of a danger or to manage, ''cavare sangue da una rapa'', to ask the impossible, and ''non cavare un ragno dal buco'', to achieve nothing.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 12th century – A record at Padua.^(DEI|827)

+ * Late 13th century – Bonvesin da la Riva uses ''cavare''.^(TLIO)

+ * 1304–1308 – Dante uses it for “to draw out”.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * Before 1400 – Franco Sacchetti uses it for taking off clothes.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 16th century – French borrows ''caver''.^(DEI|827)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(transitive)'' To take out, [[m|en|extract]], pull out: ''Il dentista gli ha cavato un dente.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(transitive)'' To take off a garment: ''cavarsi il cappotto''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(transitive)'' To get, [[m|en|obtain]], draw from something: ''Da quel terreno non si cava niente.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(transitive)'' To [[m|en|dig]], to quarry stone or minerals.^(GRADIT 2003)^(GDLI)

+ # ''(figurative)'' To rid someone of a vice or fault.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # ''cavarsi'': to satisfy a wish or need, as in ''cavarsi la voglia''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # ''cavarsela'': to get out of a difficulty; to manage, cope: ''Con il francese me la cavo.''^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cavatappi]]

+ * [[cavata]]

+ * [[cavatore]]

+ * [[cavatura]]

+ * [[cavamento]]

+ * [[ricavare]]

+ * [[scavare]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[cava]]

+ * [[cavo]]

+ * [[caverna]]

+ * [[cavazione]]

+ * [[la|cavus]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}