volcano English · revision 39734

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1613, S. Purchas|origins=la Volcānus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /vɒlˈkeɪ.nəʊ/, /vɒlˈkɑː.nəʊ/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /vɑlˈkeɪ.noʊ/, /vɔlˈkeɪ.noʊ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|it|vulcano|t=burning mountain]] (also ''volcano''),^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MWU 2024) ultimately from [[la|Volcānus]] (also [[m|la|Vulcānus]]), [[Vulcan]], the Roman god of fire and metalworking,^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024) whose name was also used for fire, flames and a volcano.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) The Romans applied it to Mount Etna, which they believed was Vulcan's forge.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Weekley 1921) The OED notes that Italian ''vulcano'' is first found in 1555 in translations of Spanish accounts of the Americas, and that its use as a common noun followed [[m|es|volcán]];^(OED 2026) the American Heritage Dictionary takes the Italian word from that Spanish one or from [[m|pt|volcão]].^(AHD 2024) Earlier English forms were [[m|enm|vulcane]] (late 14th century) and [[m|en|volcan]] (1570s), from [[m|fr|volcan]] and Spanish.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A mountain or hill with a crater or vent through which lava, rock and gases are or have been thrown out: 1613, in Samuel Purchas's ''Pilgrimage'', spelled ''vulcano'';^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1995)^(SOED 2002) Etymonline dates it to the 1610s.^(Etymonline) The spelling ''volcano'' is recorded from 1690.^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Merriam-Webster's ''Book of Word Histories'' notes that the Romans placed Vulcan's forge under Etna, while the Greeks set Hephaistos's on the volcanic island of Lemnos.^(MW Word Histories) Johnson (1755) defined the word simply as "a burning mountain".^(Johnson 1755) Figurative use for a person or thing liable to burst out violently is recorded from 1690, and for a suppressed violent passion from 1697.^(OED 2026) The word was also applied to a violent eruption of fire or smoke (1699) and to things that throw out fire like a volcano, such as a cone-shaped firework (1785).^(OED 2026) The rare verb, to erupt or to utter explosively, dates from 1867.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * late 14th century – ''vulcane'', from French.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1570s – ''volcan''.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1613 – ''vulcano'', a volcano.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1690 – the spelling ''volcano''; figurative use.^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 2026)

+ * 1697 – a suppressed passion.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1785 – a firework of conical shape.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1867 – verb, to erupt or utter violently.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An opening in the [[crust]] of the earth, or of another planet or moon, through which molten [[lava]], rock fragments, ash and gases are thrown out.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # A [[mountain]] or hill built up around such an opening from the material thrown out, often with a [[crater]] at its top: ''The village lies at the foot of a dormant volcano.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # Something or someone liable to burst into sudden violence, or a strong feeling held in check: ''a volcano of resentment''.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[volcanogenic]]

+ * [[volcanic]]

+ * [[volcanism]]

+ * [[volcanology]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Vulcan]]

+ * [[vulcanize]]

+ * [[vulcanology]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}