cave English · revision 6751

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1220|origins=la cavus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /keɪv/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fro|cave|t=a cave, vault, cellar]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) from [[la|cava|t=hollow places]], the noun use of the neuter plural (or feminine) of [[m|la|cavus|t=hollow]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from PIE [[ine-pro|*ḱewh₁-|alt=*keue-|t=to swell; vault, hole]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) also the source of Greek [[m|grc|κοῖλος|tr=koîlos|t=hollow]].^(Barnhart 1988) It replaced Old English eorðscrafu.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A hollow place in the earth opening more or less horizontally: about 1220 in the OED, before 1250 in Barnhart, the early 13th century in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Any hollow is from 1605.^(OED 1989) The verb, to hollow out, is from the early 15th century.^(Etymonline) To collapse, usually ''cave in'', is by 1707 in American English, probably from East Anglian dialect calve, to fall in and leave a hollow, influenced by cave;^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(Barnhart 1988) to yield under pressure is from 1837.^(Etymonline) In British politics a ''cave'' was a group that broke away from its party, after the Cave of Adullam in the Bible (1866).^(OED 1989)^(Collins 2023) Caving as a sport is from the mid-20th century.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1220 – an underground hollow.^(OED 1989)

+ * early 15th century – to hollow out.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1707 – to collapse.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1837 – to give in.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1866 – a political secession.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A natural hollow under the ground or in a hill or cliff, with an opening to the surface.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(British history)'' A group breaking away from a political party.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(usually with in)'' To collapse or fall inward.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(usually with in)'' To give in under pressure.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To explore caves.^(Collins 2023)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[caver]]

+ * [[cavelike]]

+ * [[cavefish]]

+ * [[caveman]]

+ * [[Wind Cave]]

+ * [[cave art]]

+ * [[cave bear]]

+ * [[cave dweller]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[cavern]]

+ * [[cavity]]

+ * [[concave]]

+ * [[excavate]]

+ * [[cage]]

+ * [[caveat]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Latin [[m|la|cave|t=beware!]], from cavēre, was used as schoolboy slang for a warning that a teacher was coming, from the mid-19th century; it is pronounced differently.^(Cresswell 2021)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}