Grotto

WOTD - 23 April 2009    

English

Noun

Grotto (plural Grottos or grottoes)

1. A small cave.
2. An artificial cavern-like retreat.
3. (Irish, UK) A Marian shrine, usually built in a cavern-like structure.

Derived terms

• grot

Verbs for Grotto

adorn—; construct—; excavate—; exhibit—; ornament—; nestle in—; retreat to—; — beautifies; —delights; —displays; —echoes; —pleases; —shades; —solaces.

Thesaurus

abri, antre, bunker, burrow, cave, cavern, cove, dugout, foxhole, grot, hole, lair, sewer, subterrane, subterranean, subway, tunnel, warren

Etymology

From Italian grotta, from Vulgar Latin grupta, from Classical Latin crypta; see crypt.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈɡɹɒt.əʊ/
• (US) IPA: /ˈɡɹɑ.toʊ/

• Audio (US)

  noicon

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒtəʊ

Translations

small cave

Czech: jeskyňka (cs) f. Danish: grotte (da) c. Finnish: luola (fi) German: Grotte (de) f. Italian: grotta (it) f., caverna (it) f., santuario (it) m. Latin: caverna (la) f.

Polish: grota (pl) f. Portuguese: gruta (pt) f. Russian: грот (ru) m. Spanish: gruta (es) f.

artificial cavern-like retreat

Czech: grotta (cs) f. Danish: grotte (da) c. Finnish: luola (fi)

German: Grotte (de) f. Portuguese: gruta (pt) f. Spanish: gruta (es) f.