Emily Dickinson Lexicon

CAVE, n. [Fr. cave; L. cavea; Sp. cueva; It. cava; Arm. caff, or cau; W. ogov; Hindoo, gopa; Ar. قَابَ kauba, to dig out or excavate, or جَافَ gaufa, to be hollow. Class Gb, No. 8, 71.]

A hollow place in the earth; a subterraneous cavern; a den. This may be natural or artificial. The primitive inhabitants of the earth, in many countries, lived in caves; and the present inhabitants of some parts of the earth, especially in the high northern latitudes, occupy caves, particularly in winter. Lot dwelt in a cave, he and his daughters. – Gen. xix. Caves were also used for the burial of the dead. Abraham buried Sarah in the cave of the field of Machpelah. – Gen. xxiii. Bacon applies the word to the ear, “the cave of the ear;” but this application is unusual.