English
excavation
Excavation comes from Latin excavātiō ‘a hollowing out’, and goes back to Proto-Italic *kawos.
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kawosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcavus‘hollow’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcavō‘to hollow out’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexcavō‘to hollow out’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexcavātiō‘a hollowing out’
- Englishearliest quotation 1878excavation
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kawosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcavus‘hollow’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcavō‘to hollow out’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexcavō‘to hollow out’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEexcavātiō‘a hollowing out’
- Englishearliest quotation 1878excavation
Earliest quotation: 1878, N.Y. Supreme Court: “[…] to cart away the excavations from the work,…”
Formed from excavate + -ion
Proto-Italic *kawos
Latin cavus
Latin cavō ‘to make hollow, hollow out, excavate’
Latin excavō ‘to hollow out’
Latin excavātus ‘hollowed out’
English excavate
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱewh₁- ‘vault, hole’
church, kirk, hound, cyst, cumulus, cajole, 38 more
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱowh₁ós
through Proto-Italic *kawos
cavern, jailer, concave, 14 more
through Latin cavus ‘hollow’
Today it means
noun The act of excavating, or of making hollow, by cutting, scooping, or digging out a part of a solid mass.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Italic *kawos / excavation