spelunk

English

WOTD – 28 December 2011    

Pronunciation

• IPA: /spɨˈlʌŋk/, IPA: /spiːˈlʌŋk/

  Rhymes: -ʌŋk

Etymology

From Latin spelunca, from Ancient Greek σπῆλυγξ (spēlunks, “cave, cavern, grotto”). Cognates include German Spelunke.

Noun

spelunk (plural spelunks)

1. (obsolete) A cave, cavern or grotto.

Translations

cave, cavern, grotto — see cave

Verb

spelunk (third-person singular simple present spelunks, present participle spelunking, simple past and past participle spelunked)

1. To explore caves.

Synonyms

• cave

Derived terms

• spelunker
• spelunking

Translations

to explore caves

• Finnish: tutkia luolia (fi)
• Russian: исследовать пещеры (ru) , заниматься спелеологией (ru) 

• Spanish: hacer espeleología (es)