lavan.
/ˈlɑːvə/, U.S. /ˈlɑvə/, /ˈlævə/ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > structural features > volcanic formations > [noun] > lava formations > lava flow
lava1753
coulée1839
lava flow1866
1753 Philos. Trans. 1751–2 (Royal Soc.) 47 52 The wells..near the places where the lava's stopped, are sometimes found full.
1769 W. Hamilton in Philos. Trans. 1768 (Royal Soc.) 58 6 Another lava forced its way out of the same place from whence came the lava last year.
2. The fluid or semi-fluid matter flowing from a volcano.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > ejected volcanic material > [noun] > lava
fire stream1657
lava1760
fireflood1821
coulée1839
fire fountain1852
lava flow1866
1760 Ann. Reg., Chron. 86/1 On the 21st ult...all the neighbourhood of Mount Vesuvius was overflowed by a deluge of burning bitumen called lava.
1820 J. Keats Lamia i, in Lamia & Other Poems 12 As the lava ravishes the mead.
1831 H. T. De la Beche Geol. Man. ii. 108 The lava burst out..at three different points, about eight or nine miles from each other.
1885 Times 27 Aug. 5 The phenomenon which these people understand by ‘aluvion’ is really the stream of lava.
3.
a. The substance that results from the cooling of the molten rock.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > rock > igneous rock > [noun] > volcanic rocks > lava
lava1753
lixivium1814
1753 Philos. Trans. 1751–2 (Royal Soc.) 47 150 This lava..is a very hard substance, like stone, of a slate colour.
1789 H. L. Piozzi Observ. Journey France II. 36 One of these towns is crushed..under loads of heavy lava.
1803 Gazetteer Scotl. at Kinnoul The greater part of it is composed of lava, in which the different layers or currents are very evident.
1837 W. Irving Capt. Bonneville (1849) 243 Great masses of lava lay scattered about in every direction.
1882 Rep. Precious Metals (U.S. Bureau of Mint) 622 Volcanic breccia and volcanic conglomerates are likewise designated by the term ‘lava’.
b. A kind of lava, a bed of lava.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > structural features > volcanic formations > [noun] > lava formations > lava bed
lava1773
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > rock > igneous rock > [noun] > volcanic rocks > lava > type of
lava1773
1773 P. Brydone Tour Sicily & Malta I. vii. 131 They pierced through seven distinct lavas one over the other.
1794 R. Kirwan Elements Mineral. (ed. 2) I. 400 Any matter that has issued out of a volcano in a liquified state..is in general, styled a lava.
1872 J. D. Dana Corals & Coral Islands ii. 154 The cavities of a lava or basalt become filled.
1882 A. Geikie Text-bk. Geol. iii. i. i. §1. 203 Lavas differ from each other in the extent to which they are impregnated with gases and vapours.
Compounds
General attributive. C1. Simple attributive.
lava-ash n.
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1882 Rep. Precious Metals (U.S. Bureau of Mint) 634 The filling up..of the old river beds by lava-ash.
lava bed n. (also figurative)
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1891 Cent. Mag. Mar. 645 The general direction [of march] was towards the lava beds of northern California.
1905 Westm. Gaz. 12 Aug. 13/1 She lived over a ‘lava-bed of raw primeval passions’.
1937 Discovery Mar. 83/1 This arid lava bed.
lava block n.
ΚΠ
1866 ‘M. Twain’ Lett. from Hawaii (1967) 58 We climbed a hill a hundred and fifty feet high..as full of rough lava blocks as it could stick.
lava boulder n.
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1866 ‘M. Twain’ Lett. from Hawaii (1967) 223 It had lava boulders piled around its base.
1902 Athenæum 30 Aug. 287/1 Where bed on bed of mountain-pinks Above the lava-boulders blow.
lava-column n.
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1862 G. P. Scrope Volcanos (ed. 2) 23 The lava~column having seemingly sunk too far within the vent.
lava-cone n.
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1882 A. Geikie Text-bk. Geol. iii. i. i. §3. 246 A flat lava-cone 13,760 feet above the sea.
lava-current n.
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1830 C. Lyell Princ. Geol. I. 327 The lava-current..may still be traced, by aid of the scoriæ on its surface.
lava field n. (also figurative)
ΚΠ
1866 ‘M. Twain’ Lett. from Hawaii (1967) 222 We clambered over the surrounding lava field, through masses of weeds.
1899 Geogr. Jrnl. May 50 The most extensive lava-field in the island.
1906 Daily Chron. 21 May 7/3 The smoking lava fields of discussion.
1909 Daily Chron. 15 Jan. 3/3 The aim of the expedition..was to explore the great lava field lying between the United States border and Adair Bay.
1957 G. E. Hutchinson Treat. Limnol. I. i. 16 The lakes of the Modoc lava field are frequently regarded as lying on tilted block faults.
lava-lake n.
ΚΠ
1895 J. D. Dana Man. Geol. (ed. 4) 279 In cases, outside of the lava-lakes, where the bubbles are bursting beneath an opening in the bottom of the crater, the vapors and lava driblets escape from the aperture with a rush and a roar. The driblet-cone, thus made, is sometimes called a blowing-cone.
1902 Nature 4 Sept. 441/1 (heading) The lava-lake of Kilauea.
1902 Nature 4 Sept. 441/2 I carefully observed the then existing lava-lake during six successive days.
lava-plain n.
ΚΠ
1837 W. Irving Adventures Capt. Bonneville III. 77 The immense lava plain of San Gabriel.
lava-rill n.
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1869 J. Phillips Vesuvius iii. 83 Small lava-rills among them.
lava-sea n.
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1871 W. Morris in J. W. Mackail Life W. Morris (1899) I. 268 A low mound of soft grass, rising like an island from the much-riven lava-sea.
lava-stream n.
ΚΠ
1833 C. Lyell Princ. Geol. III. 184 The branches..are formed simply of two lava-streams.
lava-torrent n.
ΚΠ
1877 T. H. Huxley Physiography xii. 192 These lava-torrents are often of great magnitude.
C2.
lava-like adj.
ΚΠ
1802 J. Playfair Illustr. Huttonian Theory 274 Crystallized, sparry or lava-like structure.
C3.
lava-flag n. (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1811 J. Pinkerton Petralogy II. 236 A..basalt fragment..called lava flag.
lava flow n. a mass of flowing or solidified lava.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > ejected volcanic material > [noun] > lava
fire stream1657
lava1760
fireflood1821
coulée1839
fire fountain1852
lava flow1866
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > structural features > volcanic formations > [noun] > lava formations > lava flow
lava1753
coulée1839
lava flow1866
1866 ‘M. Twain’ Lett. from Hawaii (1967) 222 Gathering up a fresh lot of specimens, having..discarded those he dug out of the old lava flows.
1888 J. Prestwich Geol. II. 91 Beds of contemporaneous lava-flows.
1957 G. E. Hutchinson Treat. Limnol. I. i. 38 Not infrequently the surface of a newly formed lava flow may cool and produce a crust.
1974 Country Life 17 Jan. 66/1 The lava-flows on either side of the runway.
lava-millstone n. (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1858 P. L. Simmonds Dict. Trade Products Lava-millstones, hard and coarse basaltic millstones, obtained from quarries near Andernach on the Rhine.
lava-streak n. U.S. a basaltic dyke.
ΚΠ
1872 R. B. Smyth Mining Statist. 47 ‘Lava streaks’, or dykes, are found associated with all the main lines of reefs at Sandhurst.
lava ware n. (see quot.).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > clay compositions > baked clay > pottery or ceramics > [noun] > stoneware > types of
brownstone1761
ironstone china1814
stone-china1825
lava ware1860
grès de Flandres1872
queen's ware1872
Doulton ware1874
tiger-ware1874
scratched blue1883
Rhenish stoneware1897
protoporcelain1904
scratch blue1924
1860 R. Hunt Ure's Dict. Arts (ed. 5) II. 641 Lava-ware, a peculiar stoneware, manufactured and coloured to assume the semi-vitreous appearance of lava.
C4. Instrumental.
lava-capped adj.
ΚΠ
1882 Rep. Precious Metals (U.S. Bureau of Mint) 638 The bed~rock of almost every lava-capped mountain shows the same peculiarity.
lava-lit adj.
ΚΠ
1876 ‘G. Eliot’ Daniel Deronda IV. viii. lxv. 294 The lava-lit track of her troubled conscience.
lava-paved adj.
C5. similative (quasi-adj.).
ΚΠ
1818 Ld. Byron Childe Harold: Canto IV li. 28 While thy lips are With lava kisses melting while they burn.
1878 A. C. Swinburne Poems & Ballads 2nd Ser. 182 All its lava-black Cones.
Draft additions 1997
lava tube n. a tubular cave occurring naturally in some solidified lava flows.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > rock > igneous rock > [noun] > volcanic rocks > lava > tubular cave occurring in lava flow
lava tunnel1905
lava tube1927
1927 H. S. Palmer Geol. Honolulu Artesian Syst. 29 Many lava flows develop hard crusts by the cooling and solidification of the upper surface. Later the supply of lava for the particular flow may cease and the liquid lava stream may drain out leaving a long tubular opening under the crust. Lava tubes formed in this way would be as good as artificial pipes for carrying water.
1931 Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer. 42 310 Small stalactites of opal occur in a lava tube 20 miles northeast of Red Bluff, California.
1965 Oregon State Dept. Geol. & Mineral Industry Bull. lviii. 9 This large lava tube..is a mile long (1.6 km), and it can be easily entered where the roof has collapsed.
1979 United States 1980–1 (Penguin Travel Guides) 510 There's good diving in the Pine Trees area (lava-tube caves big enough to drive a Volkswagen through, [etc.])
1993 K. S. Robinson Green Mars (new ed.) 439 She stepped into an observation gallery cut into the side of the lava tube.
Draft additions 1997
lava tunnel n. = lava tube n. at Additions above.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > rock > igneous rock > [noun] > volcanic rocks > lava > tubular cave occurring in lava flow
lava tunnel1905
lava tube1927
1905 Bull. U.S. Geol. Surv. No. 252. 70 Access can be gained to a subterranean chamber of the ordinary type of lava tunnels, formed by the outflow of molten lava from beneath the thick, rigid crust of a sheet of basalt.
1976 P. Francis Volcanoes iv. 143 Lava tunnels result from the rapid cooling of the surface and the side of a flow.
1991 H. A. Summerfield Global Geomorphol. xix. 485/2 The Hadley Rille itself is thought to be a massive collapsed lava tunnel, smaller versions of which are known from lava fields on Earth.
Draft additions April 2002
lava lamp n. originally U.S. an ornamental electric lamp which consists of a transparent (esp. conical or cylindrical) chamber containing a viscous liquid in which a brightly coloured substance is suspended, rising and sinking in irregular and constantly changing shapes as a result of the heat emitted from the bulb below.
ΚΠ
1969 Science 16 May 853/1 The room was lighted by a red lava lamp and one indirect red light, and contemporary rock music was played.
1985 Chicago Tribune (Nexis) 31 Mar. (Chicagoland section) 1 Like the hippies of the '60s, lava lamps were colorful and interesting, although no one was quite sure of their purpose.
1993 J. Saunders Absolutely Fabulous iv. 80 Edina You and your generation... What will you leave the world as your legacy?.. Saffron What did you ever leave? The lava lamp and the bean-bag?
2000 Daily News (Los Angeles) (Nexis) 23 Sept. Lava lamps..[were] designed in 1963 by a Belgian eccentric named Edward Craven Walker who called his invention the Astro Lamp.
Draft additions April 2002
lava light n. (a) poetic (now rare), light emitted by molten lava; (b) originally U.S. = lava lamp n. at Additions.
ΚΠ
1832 S. L. Fairfield Last Night of Pompeii i. 45 Ghastly with lava light, the molten clouds In cloven masses swirl before his path.
1892 Ld. Tennyson Kapiolani in Wks. (1896) 889/2 Long as the lava-light Glares from the lava-lake.
1967 Chicago Seed May 14/3 Wallgreen's drugs is advertising Lava lights with full page ads.
1997 Fort Pierce News (Florida) (Nexis) 25 July a6 Taylor said tidal movements make the muck ‘boil up like that stuff in a lava light’.
Draft additions April 2002
Lava Lite n. originally U.S. (a proprietary name for) a type of lava lamp.
ΚΠ
1968 Official Gaz. (U.S. Patent Office) 30 Apr. 216/1 Lava Lite... For ornamental electrical device in the form of a lighting unit or lamp.
1982 A. Maupin Further Tales of City 96 His tiny studio was blandly furnished, with occasional endearing lapses into kitsch (a Mike Mentzer poster, a Lava Lite).
1997 Chicago Tribune (Nexis) 28 Dec. (Tempo Northwest section) 1 Next stop is the wallful of Lava Lites that happily ooze red, orange, aqua and green globules.
Draft additions June 2021
lava cake n. a type of (esp. chocolate) cake which retains a soft, thick, liquid centre after being baked and is typically served warm as a dessert; cf. chocolate fondant n.Compare slightly earlier chocolate lava cake at chocolate n. and adj. Compounds 5.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > puddings > [noun] > sweet or fruit puddings
white pudding1588
quaking puddinga1665
apple pudding1708
cowslip pudding1723
plum pudding1811
roly-poly pudding1821
black cap1822
amber pudding1829
bird's nest pudding1829
slump1831
Bakewell pudding1833
roly-poly1835
dog in a (or the) blanket1842
castle pudding1845
ice pudding1846
pan pie1846
dick1849
roll-up1856
canary pudding1861
roly1861
treacle pud1861
Brown Betty1864
summer pudding1875
parfait1884
schalet1884
Sally Lunn pudding1892
Tommy1895
queen of puddings1903
layer-pudding1909
clafoutis1926
shrikhand1950
chocolate fondant1971
mud-pie1975
tiramisu1982
lava cake1994
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > cake > [noun] > a cake > chocolate cake > types of
brownie1897
Sachertorte1906
blackout cake1942
Black Forest cake1959
Black Forest gâteau1967
chocolate lava cake1992
lava cake1994
Brooklyn blackout (cake)1999
1994 N.Y. Times 2 Dec. (Late ed.) c24/4 The most spectacular dessert is lava cake, a concoction filled with raspberries and molten chocolate.
2011 K. Holechek Have your Cake & Vegan Too (e-book, accessed 1 Dec. 2020) 122 For a lava cake, check after 20 minutes; the outer edges and top should be set, but the middle still very moist.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1902; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.1753