English
cavernous
Cavernous comes from Middle English cavernous ‘having a cavern or caverns’.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cavernous‘having a cavern or caverns’
- Englishearliest quotation 2019cavernous
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cavernous‘having a cavern or caverns’
- Englishearliest quotation 2019cavernous
Earliest quotation: 2019, Paul Stephen, Lakes and lines offer scenery to savour: “The last stop on the West Coast Main Line…”
Formed from cavern + -ous
Proto-Italic *kawos
…
Latin caverna ‘hollow, cavity, cave’
Old French caverne
Middle French caverne
Middle English caverne ‘cavern, cave’
English cavern
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱewh₁- ‘to swell’
church, kirk, hound, cyst, cumulus, cajole, 39 more
through Proto-Italic *kawos
through Latin cavus ‘hollow, excavated, concave’
jail, cage, cavity, excavation, gaol, concave, excavate, caul, cavil, 15 more
Today it means
adj Resembling a cavern in size, shape, or atmosphere.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English cavernous / cavernous