Meanings
lava1
plural lavas
- countableuncountableThe molten rock ejected by a volcano from a vent such as a crater or fissure; magma that has breached the surface of the earth.
Marine iguanas line the shores of the islands, and are usually seen sprawled over lava rocks near the sea.
1991, Martha Holmes, Sea Trek, BBC Books, page 44 - countableA body of lava.
- countabledateduncountableSolidified lava.
I leant forward to see him better, and a piece of lava, detached by my hand, went pattering down the slope.
1896, H.G. Wells, The Island of Dr. Moreau, Stone & Kimball, page 48 - countableinformalproscribeduncountableMagma.
- countableuncountableA shade of red, named after the volcanic lava.
Lava2
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
lava · noun
- Proto-Celtic*līwos
- Gaulish*lawā
- Celtic
- Latinlābēs“a fall; a collapse; subsidence”
- Neapolitan and Sicilianlava“lava; downpour overflowing the streets”
- Englishlava
From Italian, from Neapolitan and Sicilian lava (“lava; downpour overflowing the streets”), likely from Latin lābēs (“a fall; a collapse; subsidence”); compare lābīna (“landslide”). A supposed relation with lavare (“to wash”) is now widely discredited, nor is there probably any relation with Arabic لابة (lāba, “black volcanic rock”). Alternatively, the Romance words are connected with Provençal lavo, lauvo (“flat stone”), from a Vulgar Latin source borrowed from a Celtic language such as Gaulish *lawā, but ultimately of obscure origin; see Proto-Celtic *līwos for details.
More words from Neapolitan and Sicilian, Latin, Celtic
Full word history & related roots →Lava · proper noun
- Sanskritलव
- EnglishLava
Borrowed from Sanskrit लव (lava).
More words from Sanskrit
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ῥύαξ
- ῥύαξ (rhúax)molten rock
Arabic حُمَم بُرْكَانِيَّة, لَابَة
- حُمَم بُرْكَانِيَّة (ḥumam burkāniyya)molten rock
- لَابَة (lāba)molten rock
Basque laba
- labamolten rock
Bengali লাভা
- লাভা (labha)molten rock
Bulgarian ла́ва
- ла́ва (láva)molten rock
Catalan lava
- lavamolten rock
Chinese Mandarin 熔岩
- 熔岩 (róngyán)molten rock
Czech láva
- lávamolten rock
Danish lava
- lavamolten rock
Dutch lava
- lavamolten rock
Esperanto lafo
- lafomolten rock
Estonian laava
- laavamolten rock
Finnish laava
- laavamolten rock
French lave
- lavemolten rock
German Lava
- Lavamolten rock
Greek λάβα
- λάβα (láva)molten rock
Hawaiian ʻaʻā
- ʻaʻāmolten rock
Hebrew לַבָּה
- לַבָּה (láva)molten rock
Hindi लावा, लव
- लावा (lāvā)molten rock
- लव (lav)son of Shri Rāma and Sita
Hungarian láva
- lávamolten rock
Icelandic hraun
- hraunmolten rock
Indonesian lava, lahar
- lavamolten rock
- laharmolten rock
Irish laibhe
- laibhemolten rock
Italian lava
- lavamolten rock
Japanese 溶岩
- 溶岩 (yōgan)molten rock
Korean 용암
- 용암 (yong'am)molten rock
Latin lava, rhyax
- lavamolten rock
- rhyaxmolten rock
Latvian lava
- lavamolten rock
Lithuanian lava
- lavamolten rock
Malay lava
- lavamolten rock
Māori rangitoto, tahepuia
- rangitotomolten rock
- tahepuiamolten rock
Norwegian Bokmål lava
- lavamolten rock
Persian گدازه
- گدازه (godâze)molten rock
Polish lawa
- lawamolten rock
Portuguese lava
- lavamolten rock
Punjabi ਲਾਵਾ
- ਲਾਵਾ (lāvā)molten rock
Romanian lavă
- lavămolten rock
Russian ла́ва
- ла́ва (láva)molten rock
Slovak láva
- lávamolten rock
Spanish lava
- lavamolten rock
Swahili lava, zaha
- lavamolten rock
- zahamolten rock
Swedish lava
- lavamolten rock
Tagalog laba
- labamolten rock
Tamil எரிமலைக்குழம்பு, நெருப்பு குழம்பு
- எரிமலைக்குழம்பு (erimalaikkuḻampu)molten rock
- நெருப்பு குழம்பு (neruppu kuḻampu)molten rock
- எரி கற்குழம்பு (eri kaṟkuḻampu)molten rock
Thai หินหลอมเหลว
- หินหลอมเหลว (hǐn-lɔ̌ɔm-lěeo)molten rock
Turkish lav
- lavmolten rock
Ukrainian ла́ва
- ла́ва (láva)molten rock
Urdu لاوا
- لاوا (lāvā)molten rock
Vietnamese dung nham
- dung nhammolten rock
Welsh lafa
- lafamolten rock
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with lava
All rhymes →Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
lava. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lava
“lava.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lava. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “lava,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lava.
Source: lava on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.