To excavate
Example: Archaeologists excavate old ruins to find ancient things.
Definition
"To excavate" means to carefully dig out and remove earth or other materials from a site, often to uncover buried objects, structures, or artifacts, especially in historical or archaeological contexts like uncovering old ruins.
Etymology
The word "to excavate" comes from the Latin verb 'excavare,' meaning 'to hollow out' or 'to dig out.' It combines 'ex-' meaning 'out' and 'cavare' meaning 'to hollow.' Did you know that the roots of 'excavate' literally suggest making a hollow or cavity by digging?
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"To excavate" appears in the Vocaplus list "English - History - (A1) - set 1", containing 208 commonly used words.
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