cage
pronunciation
How to pronounce cage in British English:
UK [keɪdʒ]
How to pronounce cage in American English:
US [keɪdʒ]
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- Noun:
- an enclosure made or wire or metal bars in which birds or animals are kept
- something that restricts freedom as a cage restricts movement
- the net that is the goal in ice hockey
- a movable screen placed behind home base to catch balls during batting practice
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- Verb:
- confine in a cage
Word Origin
- cage
- cage: [13] English acquired cage via Old French cage from Latin cavea, which meant ‘enclosure for animals, such as a coop, hive, or stall’, and also ‘dungeon’. This is usually referred to Latin cavus ‘hollow’, from which English gets cave and cavern, although not all etymologists agree with this derivation. A Vulgar Latin derivative of cavea, *caveola, was the ancestor of English gaol, and cavea has also been postulated as the ultimate source of cabinet.=> cabinet, cave, decoy, gaol, jail
- cage (n.)
- early 13c., from Old French cage "cage, prison; retreat, hideout" (12c.), from Latin cavea "hollow place, enclosure for animals, coop, hive, stall, dungeon, spectators' seats in the theater" (source also of Italian gabbia "basket for fowls, coop;" see cave (n.)).
- cage (v.)
- 1570s, from cage (n.). Related: Caged; caging.
Example
- 1. She 's a prisoner in a golden cage .
- 2. Eg. a lion has escaped from its cage .
- 3. At the back of his reeking street stall , a cage full of half-alive birds watch .
- 4. You can think of it as a big cage match .
- 5. Each cage was contained inanother .