adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective
cavus
cavus (feminine cava, neuter cavum, comparative cavior)
Classical[ˈka.wʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈkaː.vus]
Meaning
- adjectivehollow, hollowed out, cavernous, concave
Haec ubi dicta, cavum conversā cuspide montem impulit in latus [...].
As soon as these words were said, [King Aeolus], with [his] lance-head turned over, struck the hollow mountain on [its] side …. (The A-B-B-A pattern known as chiasmus: “cavum conversa cuspide montem.” This example separates the adjective “cavum” from its noun “montem,” and creates rhythmical alliteration and consonance through three successive hard “c” sounds. In addition, the Latin word order in lines 81-82 builds tension: The reader first pictures the hollow mountain, next the king dramatically overturning his spear towards it, and lastly striking his spear against the mountainside.)29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 1.81–82 - adjectiveexcavated, channeled
- adjectivevain, empty
Declension
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | cavus | cava | cavum |
| genitive | cavī | cavae | cavī |
| dative | cavō | cavae | cavō |
| accusative | cavum | cavam | cavum |
| ablative | cavō | cavā | cavō |
| vocative | cave | cava | cavum |
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | cavī | cavae | cava |
| genitive | cavōrum | cavārum | cavōrum |
| dative | cavīs | cavīs | cavīs |
| accusative | cavōs | cavās | cava |
| ablative | cavīs | cavīs | cavīs |
| vocative | cavī | cavae | cava |
căvus, a, um, adj. root κυ-, κυέω, to swell, etc.; cf.: κοῖλος, κενός,
I. hollow, excavated, concave (opp. plenus, full, round; class.).
I. Prop.:
cava conveniant plenis, Lucr. 6, 1085: cicutae, id. 5, 1383: tibia, id. 2, 620: concha, Verg. A. 6, 171: aes, id. ib. 3, 240: testudo, id. G. 4, 464; Hor. Epod. 14, 11: bucina, Ov. M. 1, 335 et saep.: ungula, Enn. Ann. 419 Vahl.: fornaces, Lucr. 7, 202: montes, id. 5, 955: specus, Enn. Ann. 420 Vahl.: cavernae, Verg. A. 2, 53: trabs, id. ib. 3, 191 et saep.: trunci, Hor. C. 2, 19, 12: ilex, id. Epod. 16, 47: saxa, id. C. 3, 13, 14 et saep.: vena, the hollow vein, Cic. N. D. 2, 55, 138: nubes, Lucr. 6, 127; 6, 176; 6, 272; Verg. A. 1, 516; 5, 810 al.—Hence also of a darkness enveloping one as a cloud: umbra, Verg. A. 2, 360: flumina, the deepchannelled mountain streams, id. G. 1, 326; 4, 427; cf. Luc. 1, 396: luna, waning (cf. cavo), Plin. 8, 54, 80, § 215.—B. Subst.: căvum, i, n. (access. form căvus, i, m. (sc. locus), Varr. R. R. 3, 15, 1; Hor. S. 2, 6, 116; id. Ep. 1, 7, 33; Phaedr. 4, 6, 3; Col. 12, 8), a hollow, cavity, hole, Cato, R. R. 128; Plaut. Men. 1, 2, 49; Lucr. 5, 1382; Liv. 24, 34, 9; Verg. G. 1, 184; Hor. S. 2, 3, 173; Plin. 2, 79, 81, § 192; 11, 51, 112, § 266 et saep.:
cava caeli, Enn. Trag. 131 Vahl.; cf.: cava caerula, id. ib. 332 Vahl.; hence, căvum aedĭum (contr. căvae-dĭum, Phn. Ep. 2, 17, 5), the inner court of Roman houses (cf. Vitr. 6, 3 Schneid.; O. Müll. Etrusk. 1, p. 255, and Archaeol. § 293, III.), Varr. L. L. 5, § 161; Vitr. 6, 3; Dict. of Antiq.—II. In late Lat., trop.: menses, which have only 30 days (opp. menses pleni, which have 31 days), Censor. 20.—
b. = inanis, vain, empty:
gloria, Paul. Nol. Carm. 22, 139: opes, id. ib. 21, 912.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
cavus adj.
2 CAV-, hollow, excavated, concave: concha, V.: bucina, O.: cavernae, V.: trunci, H.: saxa, H.: quā cava sunt (pocula), on the ínsíde, O.: tempora, arched, O.: lumina, sunken, O.: umbra, enveloping, V.: flumina, deep - channelled, V.: imago formae, unsubstantial, V. — As subst m., a hole. Tutus (of a mouse), H.—Plur: arti, Ph.—As subst n., an opening, hole: murum crebris cavis aperuit, per quae, etc., loop-holes, L.: Inventus cavis bufo, V.: nuces cavis abscondere, H.
Origins
- Proto-Indo-European*ḱewh₁-
- Proto-Indo-European*ḱowh₁ós?
- Proto-Italic*kawos
- Latincavus
Inherited from Proto-Italic *kawos, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *ḱowh₁ós (“hollow”), from *ḱewh₁- (“to swell”) + *-ós. Related to Persian کاو (“hollow”), Old Irish cúas (“hollow, cavity”), Tocharian B kor (“throat”), Albanian cup (“odd, uneven”), Ancient Greek κῠ́ᾰρ (kŭ́ăr, “eye of needle, earhole”), Old Armenian սոր (sor, “hole”), Sanskrit शून्य (śūnya, “empty, barren, zero”), Etruscan 𐌂𐌀𐌅𐌄𐌈 (caveθ). Further related to Proto-Germanic *hūnaz (“outgrowth, swelling; block of wood; offspring”), whence English hune and hound (“projection on a masthead, foretop; bar”).