The plural of 'cava,' referring to large veins in the body (particularly the superior and inferior vena cava), or sparkling wine from Spain.
From Latin 'cavus' meaning 'hollow,' which describes both the hollow structure of veins and the wine's origin in Catalonia, Spain. The medical term entered English through scientific Latin used by anatomists. The wine term came from the Catalan region's sparkling wine production.
The vena cava is literally a 'hollow vein'—it's one of the largest veins in your body, returning blood directly to your heart. The fact that Spanish wine producers borrowed the Latin term for 'hollow' shows how scientific and elegant language gets recycled across different fields.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.