lava

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This lava is all grey, and the greater part of its surface is slightly roughened.

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Definitions (10)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. noun Molten rock that reaches the earth's surface through a volcano or fissure.
  2. noun The rock formed by the cooling and solidifying of molten rock.
  3. Word History
    Lava was appropriately named by people living near Mount Vesuvius. The only active volcano on the European mainland, Vesuvius has erupted frequently since Pompeii and Herculaneum were buried by it in A.D. 79. The Neapolitans who lived in the vicinity took the Italian word lava, meaning "a stream caused suddenly by rain,” and applied it to the streams of molten rock coming down the sides of Vesuvius. The term was then taken into Standard Italian, where it came to mean the rock in both its molten and its solidified states. The Italian word in all its senses was borrowed into English around the middle of the 18th century (1750 being the earliest date of record).

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Lava has been looked up 310 times, favorited 0 times, listed 11 times, and commented on 0 times.

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Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Italian, perhaps from Latin lābēs, fall, from Latin lābī, to fall.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. = D. G. Danish Swedish lava = French lave = Spanish Portuguese lava, from Italian lava, a stream, especially of molten rock, from lavare, wash, from Latin lavare, wash: see lave.
 

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/ˈlɑvə/
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