cloaca

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /kloʊˈeɪkə/ UK /kləʊˈeɪkə/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
a common cavity for excretory and reproductive ducts in many vertebrates

In birds, waste and eggs both pass through the cloaca.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a common cavity for... sewer drain vent

Word family

Forms cloacal

Derived forms cloacal

Etymology

From Latin cloāca 'sewer, drain', from cluere 'to cleanse', from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- 'to wash, clean'.

cloāca Latin cluere Latin *ḱlew- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

# cloaca

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** kloʊˈeɪkə
**IPA (UK):** kləʊˈeɪkə

## Meanings
1. a common cavity for excretory and reproductive ducts in many vertebrates

## Examples
- In birds, waste and eggs both pass through the cloaca.

## Synonyms
- sewer
- drain
- vent

## Derived Forms
- cloacal

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: cloāca
- Root: cluere
- Root: *ḱlew-

## Etymology
From Latin cloāca 'sewer, drain', from cluere 'to cleanse', from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- 'to wash, clean'.

## AI Etymology
Cloaca is a noun meaning "a common cavity for excretory and reproductive ducts in many vertebrates". Historically, it is from Latin cloāca 'sewer, drain', from cluere 'to cleanse', from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- 'to wash, clean'. The historical chain links Latin cloāca, Latin cluere, and Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew-. A close English family member is cloacal. This keeps the modern noun sense tied to the older forms and language sequence behind it.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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cloaca

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