Link Centre Dictionary

cavernous

ca·ver·nous

UK/ˈkav.ən.əs/ US/ˈkæv.ɚ.nəs/ uncommon

adjective

1.

being or suggesting a cavern

  • “vast cavernous chambers hollowed out of limestone”
Similar
2.

filled with vascular sinuses and capable of becoming distended and rigid as the result of being filled with blood

  • “erectile tissue”
  • “the penis is an erectile organ”
Synonyms
Similar

Origin

Late Middle English cavernous, cavernose, borrowing from Old French caverneux or Latin cavernōsus (“full of hollows or cavities”), from caverna (“a hollow, cavity, cave”) + -ōsus (“-ous, -ose”, adjectival suffix); equivalent to cavern + -ous.

Phrases

  • cavernous body
  • cavernous nerve
  • cavernous sinus

Related words

Word family

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.