hollow
pronunciation
How to pronounce hollow in British English:
UK [ˈhɒləʊ]
How to pronounce hollow in American English:
US [ˈhɑːloʊ]
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- Noun:
- a cavity or space in something
- a small valley between mountains
- a depression hollowed out of solid matter
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- Verb:
- remove the inner part or the core of
- remove the interior of
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- Adjective:
- not solid; having a space or gap or cavity
- deliberately deceptive
- as if echoing in a hollow space
- devoid of significance or point
Word Origin
- hollow
- hollow: [12] Modern English hole comes from an Old English adjective meaning ‘hollow’, and by a coincidental swap hollow originated in an Old English word for ‘hole’ (the two are probably ultimately related). Old English holh meant ‘hollow place’, ‘hole’, or ‘cave’, and presumably came from the same source as produced Old English hol ‘hollow’. In the early Middle English period it began to be used as an adjective, its inflected form holge having become holwe, later holew or hollow.=> cauliflower
- hollow (adj.)
- c. 1200, from Old English holh (n.) "hollow place, hole," from Proto-Germanic *hul-, from PIE *kel- (2) "to cover, conceal" (see cell). The figurative sense of "insincere" is attested from 1520s. Related: Hollowly; hollowness. To carry it hollow "take it completely" is first recorded 1660s, of unknown origin or connection.
- hollow (v.)
- late 14c., holowen, from hollow (adj.). Related: Hollowed; hollowing.
- hollow (n.)
- "lowland, valley, basin," 1550s, probably a modern formation from hollow (adj.). Old English had holh (n.) "cave, den; internal cavity."
Example
- 1. That argument looks distinctly hollow after yesterday 's defeat .
- 2. The researchers placed hollow paper pyramids inside the cylinder .
- 3. The process uses a long , hollow cone-shaped candle .
- 4. His piercing blue eyes are hollow .
- 5. Another man with a hollow face said that dave 's parents had killed his children .