lava
noun /ˈlɑːvə/
/ˈlɑːvə/
[uncountable]- hot liquid rock that comes out of a volcano
enlarge image- molten lava
- this type of rock when it has cooled and become hard
Word Originmid 18th cent.: from Italian (Neapolitan dialect), denoting the lava stream from Vesuvius (an active volcano near Naples in Italy), but originally denoting a stream caused by sudden rain, from lavare ‘to wash’, from Latin.