English
cavum
Cavum comes from Latin cavum ‘a hollow, hole’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ḱewh₁- ‘to swell’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱewh₁-1‘to swell’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱowh₁ós1uncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kawos1reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcavus2‘hollow, excavated, concave’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcavum3‘a hollow, hole’
- Englishtodaycavum3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin cavus
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin cavum
- 3 Wiktionary, English cavum
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱewh₁-Wiktionary, Latin cavus‘to swell’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱowh₁ósWiktionary, Latin cavusuncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kawosWiktionary, Latin cavusreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcavusWiktionary, Latin cavum‘hollow, excavated, concave’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcavumWiktionary, English cavum‘a hollow, hole’
- EnglishtodaycavumWiktionary, English cavum
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱewh₁- ‘to swell’
church, kirk, hound, cyst, cumulus, cajole, 36 more
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱowh₁ós
through Proto-Italic *kawos
jailer, cavern, concave, 12 more
through Latin cavus ‘hollow, excavated, concave’
jail, cage, cave, excavation, cavity, gaol, excavate, caul, cavil, 15 more
Today it means
noun The lower part of the concha of the ear adjoining the origin of the helix.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “cavum”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin cavus, Latin cavum. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱewh₁- / cavum