cavern C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary US /ˈkævɚn/ UK /ˈkævən/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun a large, often underground, chamber or cave Their torches revealed a vast cavern dripping with stalactites. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · a large, often underground,... cavegrottocavityhollowchamberpothole Word family Derived forms cavernouscaverned Related forms cavecavityconcave Etymology AI details From Old French caverne, from Late Latin caverna ('cave, cavity'), from Latin cavus ('hollow'). caverna Latin cavus Latin View etymology graph -> Topics General Vocabulary External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # cavern **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈkævɚn/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈkævən/ ## Meanings 1. a large, often underground, chamber or cave ## Examples - Their torches revealed a vast cavern dripping with stalactites. ## Synonyms - cave - grotto - cavity - hollow - chamber - pothole ## Derived Forms - cavernous - caverned ## Related Forms - cave - cavity - concave ## Roots and Affixes - Root: caverna - Root: cavus ## Etymology From Old French caverne, from Late Latin caverna ('cave, cavity'), from Latin cavus ('hollow'). ## AI Etymology Cavern comes from Old French caverne, from Late Latin caverna ('cave, cavity'), from Latin cavus ('hollow'). The historical trail runs through caverna in Latin and cavus in Latin. Used as a noun and verb, cavern now means "a large, often underground, chamber or cave", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in derived forms such as cavernous and caverned and related forms such as cave, cavity, and concave. The result is a borrowed or transmitted form whose modern spelling carries a compact record of its route into English. ## Topics - General Vocabulary markdown