English Explanatory Dictionary

lava

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The molten rock ejected by a volcano from a vent such as a crater or fissure; magma that has breached the surface of the earth.
  2. Magma.
  3. A shade of red, named after the volcanic lava.
name
  1. One of the twin children of the Lord Rāma and his wife Sita in the Ramayana.

Pronunciation

läʹvə /ˈlɑːvə/ en-us-lava.ogg /ˈlævə/

Word forms

lava lavas

Etymology

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.

Related words

aa lavalava pahoehoe

Derived words

fat lava hot lava lava bear lava bomb lava bread lava cake lavacicle lava cone lava dome lavafall lava field lava flow lavaform lava lake lava lamp lavaless lavalike lava-like lava millstone lavascape lava sledding lava tube lava ware laze molten lava cake the floor is lava
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