excavation

Etymology

From Latin excavātiō (“a hollowing out”), from excavō (“I hollow out”), from ex + cavō (“I hollow out”), from cavus (“hollow”), from Proto-Indo-European *keu- (“vault, hole”).

noun

1. (uncountable) The act of excavating, or of making hollow, by cutting, scooping, or digging out a part of a solid mass.
2. (countable) A cavity formed by cutting, digging, or scooping.
   Prof. Dainelli made a personal study of the lakes of the Upper Indus lying between its confluence with the Gilgit on the west and the plains of Kashmir on the east. From this district he cites fifty lakes and groups of lakes. Many of these are moraine-dammed, but some of the larger ones, as the Satpor Tso, the Tso Moriri, the Chiun Tso, and the group of lakes associated with the Pángong Tso, he considers to have originated by glacial excavation. 1924 March, E. J. Garwood, “Himalayan Glaciation”, in The Geographical Journal, volume LXIII, number 3, London: Royal Geographic Society, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 244
3. (countable) An uncovered cutting in the earth, in distinction from a covered cutting or tunnel.
4. (countable) The material dug out in making a channel or cavity.
5. (uncountable) Archaeological research that unearths buildings, tombs and objects of historical value.
6. (countable) A site where an archaeological exploration is being carried out.
7. (countable) Something uncovered by archaeological excavation.
   To date, [Taco's 1982 cover of Irving Berlin's 1935] "Cheek To Cheek" and similar auditory excavations have fared poorly. 1990, Wayne Jancik, The Billboard Book of One-Hit Wonders, page 392