spelaeanadj.
/spɪˈliːən/ 1. Inhabiting a cave or caves; frequenting caverns; cave-dwelling.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabiting a type of place > [adjective] > dwelling in cave
troglodytic1676
troglodyte1704
spelaean1839
troglodytical1841
cavernicolous1889
1839 G. Roberts Dict. Geol. 161 Spelæan, that frequent caverns. A term applied to the hyæna.
1874 W. B. Dawkins Cave Hunting iii. 118 The remains of the spelæan variety of the spotted hyæna were very abundant in the cave~earth.
a1882 Fraser's Mag. (Imp. Dict.) Those primitive spelæan people who contended against and trapped the mammoth.
2. Of the nature of a cave.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > landscape > low land > hole or pit > [adjective] > cave
cavy?1614
cryptic1617
cavernal1803
speluncean1803
cavernous1833
caverned1847
speluncar1855
spelaean1882
1882 R. Owen in Longman's Mag. 1 67 More satisfactorily..than in any other spelæan retreat which I have explored.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
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adj.1839