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Today it means

excavate

to dig out

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Where does the word "excavate" come from? It comes from Latin excavare, and was adopted directly into English (1590s).

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Where does the word "excavate" come from? It comes from Latin excavare, and was adopted directly into English (1590s).

Excavate’s story begins in Latin: excavare meant “to hollow out.” 'ex-' plus 'cavus', hollow. It reached English by 1590s as excavate. Archaeological 'excavations' date from the 1800s. Today, excavate means to dig out.

  1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient excavare "to hollow out", 'ex-' plus 'cavus', hollow.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1590s excavate "to hollow out", archaeological 'excavations' date from the 1800s.

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