excavator
UK[ˈekskəveɪtə]US[ˈekskəveɪtər]
n
A large machine used for digging and moving large amounts of earth, rock, or other material.
n
A person who excavates, especially an archaeologist.
Morpheme Breakdown
ex
cav
ator
ex
out
cav
hollow
ator
agent suffix
Etymology
The word 'excavator' is built upon the Latin verb excavare, meaning "to hollow out". This verb itself is a compound of the prefix ex- ("out") and the root cavus ("hollow"). The literal sense is thus "to make hollow by removing material from the inside". The agent suffix -ator was added to form a noun for "one who hollows out". Over time, this meaning evolved from describing a person, such as an archaeologist who digs out artifacts, to primarily denoting the powerful mechanical machine that performs the same fundamental action of digging out and removing earth on a massive scale.
Analysis
Structure: ex (out) + cav (hollow) + ator (agent suffix)
- ex: Latin origin, a prefix meaning "out of, from, thoroughly".
- cav: Latin origin, from the root cavus, meaning "hollow".
- ator: Latin origin, an agent noun suffix (one who performs an action).
Examples
The construction crew used a large excavator to dig the foundation for the new building.
The archaeologist, a careful excavator of the site, uncovered ancient pottery fragments.
The excavator's hydraulic arm smoothly scooped up several tons of gravel.