Wiktionary

excavate

English

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Etymology 1

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First attested in 1599, from Latin excavātus (“hollowed out”), perfect passive participle of excavō (“to hollow out”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from ex (“out”) + cavō (“to hollow out, pierce”), from cavus (“cave, hole”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix). Participial usage up until Early Modern English.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈɛk.skə.veɪt/
  • Hyphenation: ex‧ca‧va‧te

Verb

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excavate (third-person singular simple present excavates, present participle excavating, simple past and past participle excavated)

  1. (transitive) To make a hole in (something); to hollow.
  2. (transitive) To remove part of (something) by scooping or digging it out.
  3. (transitive) To uncover (something) by digging.
Derived terms
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Translations
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Adjective

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excavate (not comparable)

  1. (rare, as an adjective) Made hollow.
  2. (obsolete, as a participle) excavated, hollowed out

Etymology 2

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

From a substantivization of Latin excavātus through the associated taxon's name (Excavata), see -ate (noun-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more.

Noun

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excavate (plural excavates)

  1. (zoology) Any member of a major grouping of unicellular eukaryotes, of the clade Excavata.

References

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Latin

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Verb

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excavāte

  1. second-person plural present active imperative of excavō

Spanish

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Verb

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excavate

  1. second-person singular voseo imperative of excavar combined with te
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