Cave (kAv), n. [F. cave, L. cavus hollow, whence cavea cavity. Cf. Cage.]
1.
A hollow place in the earth, either natural or artificial; a subterraneous cavity; a cavern; a den.
2.
Any hollow place, or part; a cavity. [Obs.] "The cave of the ear." Bacon.
Cave bear (Zoöl.), a very large fossil bear (Ursus spelæus) similar to the grizzly bear, but large; common in European caves. --
Cave dweller, a savage of prehistoric times whose dwelling place was a cave. Tylor. --
Cave hyena (Zoöl.), a fossil hyena found abundanty in British caves, now usually regarded as a large variety of the living African spotted hyena. --
Cave lion (Zoöl.), a fossil lion found in the caves of Europe, believed to be a large variety of the African lion. --
Bone cave. See under Bone.
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Cave, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Caved (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Caving.] [Cf. F. caver. See Cave, n.]
To make hollow; to scoop out. [Obs.]
The mouldred earth cav'd the banke.
Spenser.
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Cave, v. i.
1.
To dwell in a cave. [Obs.] Shak.
2. [See To cave in, below.]
To fall in or down; as, the sand bank caved. Hence (Slang), to retreat from a position; to give way; to yield in a disputed matter.
To cave in. [Flem. inkalven.]
(a) To fall in and leave a hollow, as earth on the side of a well or pit.
(b) To submit; to yield. [Slang] H. Kingsley.
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Cave, n. (Eng. Politics)
A coalition or group of seceders from a political party, as from the Liberal party in England in 1866. See Adullam, Cave of, in the Dictionary of Noted Names in Fiction.
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