English
cavity
Cavity may come from Middle French cavité.
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600cavitéuncertain
- Englishtodaycavity
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600cavitéuncertain
- Englishtodaycavity
first attested First attested in the Mid-16th c. (as stated in the etymology)
The story
First attested in the Mid-16th c.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱewh₁- ‘to swell’
church, kirk, hound, cyst, cumulus, cajole, 37 more
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱowh₁ós
through Proto-Italic *kawos
jailer, cavern, concave, 13 more
through Latin cavus ‘hollow, excavated, concave’
jail, cage, cave, excavation, gaol, excavate, caul, cavil, 16 more
Today it means
noun A hollow area within the body.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle French cavité / cavity