cloaca
pronunciation
How to pronounce cloaca in British English:
UK [kləʊ'eɪkə]
How to pronounce cloaca in American English:
US [kloʊ'eɪkə]
-
- Noun:
- a waste pipe that carries away sewage or surface water
Word Origin
- cloaca (n.)
- 1650s, euphemism for "underground sewer," from Latin cloaca "public sewer, drain," from cluere "to cleanse," from PIE root *kleue- "to wash, clean" (cognates: Greek klyzein "to dash over, wash off, rinse out," klysma "liquid used in a washing;" Lithuanian šluoju "to sweep;" Old English hlutor, Gothic hlutrs, Old High German hlutar, German lauter "pure, clear"). Use in biology, in reference to eliminatory systems of lower animals, is from 1834. Related: Cloacal (1650s); cloacinal (1857).
Example
- 1. They jump on the house , they jump into the water , and their home is in cloaca !
- 2. The long , narrow duct that conveys urine from the kidney to the urinary bladder or cloaca .
- 3. Don 't have a chat with unknown men , and don 't answer any accosts . Especially don 't call gasman , box lunch , or call to repair you cloaca .
- 4. Effect of adding various dietary anti salmonella supplements on the total bacteria count of the cloaca of silkie bantams .
- 5. There are some who seek out the hidden corners of cities , attempting for example , to find the cloaca maxima ( the world 's first sewer ) underneath rome , or mapping abandoned subway stations in new york .