hollow
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
[edit] English
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Etymology 1
Middle English holw, holh, from Old English hol (“hollow”), from Proto-Germanic *hulaz (compare Dutch hol, German hohl, Danish hul), from Proto-Indo-European *k̑óuhₓ-ilo (compare Albanian thellë (“deep”), Ancient Greek κοῖλος (koĩlos, “hollow”)', Avestan sūra (“hole, gap”), Sanskrit (kulyā, “brook, ditch”)), from *k̑óuhₓ- 'cavity'. More at cave.
[edit] Adjective
hollow (comparative hollower, superlative hollowest)
- (of something solid) Having an empty space or cavity inside.
- (of a sound) Distant, eerie; echoing, reverberating, as if in a hollow space; dull, muffled; often low-pitched.
- a hollow moan
- (figuratively) Without substance; having no real or significant worth; meaningless.
- a hollow victory
- (figuratively) Insincere, devoid of validity; specious.
- a hollow promise
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Translations
having an empty space inside
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low-pitched
without substance
[edit] Etymology 2
Middle English holow, earlier holgh, from Old English holh (“a hollow”)', from hol (“hollow (adj.)”). See above.
[edit] Noun
hollow (plural hollows)
- A small valley between mountains; "he built himself a cabin in a hollow high up in the Rockies"
- A sunken area in something solid.
- (US) A sunken area, the equivalent to a copse in British English.
- (figuratively) A feeling of emptiness.
- The New Zealand enunciation of hello.
[edit] Translations
sunken area
feeling of emptiness
[edit] Verb
hollow (third-person singular simple present hollows, present participle hollowing, simple past and past participle hollowed)
- to make a hole in something; to excavate (transitive)
