English → Latin
“excavate” in Latin
cavōto make hollow, hollow out, excavate; to perforate, pierceexcavōto hollow out, excavateeffodiōto dig out or up, excavate, mine; to hollow outfodiōto dig, dig up, dig out; to bury; to dig or clear out the earth from a place; to mine, quarry; to prick, prod, pierce, tlapisstone; milestone; boundary stonerūpēscliff, rocknāvisship, boat, vessel; a fleet in the plural; nave (middle or body of a church)cavernaa hollow, cavity, cave, cavern, grotto, holerīpabank (of a river); shore (of the sea)terradry land (as opposed to watery parts of the Earth); ground, floor (the surface of the land); earth, soil, dirt, clay, cl
The English word excavate itself goes back to Latin cavum, through excavātus.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
excavate
cavare (general term, to make hollow, lapidem, rupes, naves, etc.): excavare (to hollow out, cavernam, ripas, terram): effodere (to dig out, terram, humum, montem, lacum, etc.): fodere (to dig, to make by digging; e.g., wells, puteos: ditches, scrobes, etc.).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for excavate?
- The usual Latin words for “excavate” are cavō, excavō, effodiō; also fodiō, lapis, rūpēs. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.