English Explanatory Dictionary

cloaca

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A sewer.
  2. The opening in reptiles, amphibians and birds, as well as elasmobranchians, lobe-finned fishes, and monotreme mammals, which serves as the common outlet for the urogenital ducts and rectum.
  3. An outhouse or lavatory.
  4. A duct through which gangrenous material escapes a body.
  5. Structure in the embryo during the development of the reproductive and urinary systems.

Pronunciation

/kləʊˈeɪ.kə/ /kloʊˈeɪ.kə/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-cloaca.wav

Word forms

cloaca cloacas cloacae

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cloāca (“sewer”), related to cluō (“cleanse; purge”), but the derivation is uncertain.

Synonyms

sewer bathroom vent

Derived words

cloacal cloacinal cloacitis persistent cloaca
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