cloaca
/kloʊ̯ˈeɪ̯.kə/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 2.16 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
3
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A sewer.
noun
The opening in reptiles, amphibians and birds, as well as elasmobranchians, lobe-finned fishes, and monotreme mammals, which serves as the common outlet for the urogenital ducts and rectum.
noun
A duct through which gangrenous material escapes a body.
noun
Structure in the embryo during the development of the reproductive and urinary systems.
Example Sentences
- "The Thames, polluted with the filthy effusions of the cloacae."
- "[…] that tremendous cloaca of Pauperism […]"
- "After working an hour, I began to speculate on the distance one had to go before the cloaca was reached the chances we had of missing it altogether."
- "In birds the rectum, at the termination of its canal, forms an oval or elongated pouch […] and then expands into a cavity, which has been named cloaca."
- "To every house […] a cloaca."
- "Only think of that cloaca being supplied daily with such dainty bibliographical treasures!"
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin cloāca (“sewer”), related to cluō (“cleanse; purge”), but the derivation is uncertain.
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: cloāca
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /kloʊ̯ˈeɪ̯.kə/
- British English: /kləʊ̯ˈeɪ̯.kə/