A large hole in the ground, either natural or artificially made. Can also refer to a hard seed inside some fruits or a trading floor area in financial markets.
From Old English 'pytt', borrowed from Latin 'puteus' meaning well or pit. The various meanings developed from the basic concept of a deep hollow, extending metaphorically to fruit stones and specialized areas.
The word 'pit' shows how basic spatial concepts expand into specialized domains. From simple holes in the ground, we get orchestra pits (sunken performance areas), trading pits (busy circular floors), and even 'the pits' as slang for something terrible - all connected by the idea of being low or deep.
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