Link Centre Dictionary

lava

UK/ˈlɑːvə/ US/ˈlɑvə/ fairly common informal

noun

1.

rock that in its molten form (as magma) issues from volcanos; lava is what magma is called when it reaches the surface

Origin

From Italian, from Neapolitan and Sicilian lava (“lava; downpour overflowing the streets”), likely from Latin lābēs (“a fall; a collapse; subsidence”); compare lābīna (“landslide”). A supposed relation with lavare (“to wash”) is now widely discredited, nor is there probably any relation with Arabic لابة (lāba, “black volcanic rock”). Alternatively, the Romance words are connected with Provençal lavo, lauvo (“flat stone”), from a Vulgar Latin source borrowed from a Celtic language such as Gaulish *lawā, but ultimately of obscure origin; see Proto-Celtic *līwos for details.

Phrases

  • fat lava
  • hot lava
  • lava bear
  • lava bomb
  • lava bread
  • lava cake
  • lava cone
  • lava dome

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

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.