Cava
/ˈkɑː.və/noun
A Spanish sparkling wine made chiefly by the traditional bottle-fermentation method.
Did you know?The wine name comes through Catalan cava, meaning an underground cellar or cave, ultimately from Latin cavus, “hollow.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*keh₂u-
“To be hollow or concave”
Classical Latin
Latin
cavus / cava
“Hollow; the feminine form could mean a hollow place or cavity”
Medieval Latin
Latin
cava
“A cave, hollow, or underground chamber”
Middle Catalan
Catalan
cava
“A cave or cellar, especially an underground storage place”
19th Century
Catalan
cava
“Sparkling wine aged in underground cellars by the traditional method”
Modern English
English
cava
“Spanish sparkling wine”