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grotto

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grot⋅to

  [grot-oh]
Use grotto in a Sentence
–noun, plural -toes, -tos.
1. a cave or cavern.
2. an artificial cavernlike recess or structure.
Origin:
1610–20; < It grotta < VL *crupta, for L crypta subterranean passage, chamber. See crypt

Related forms:
grottoed, adjective
grot⋅to⋅like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Wood Wine Racks
Local Manufacturer and Installer. Visit our showroom in Laguna Niguel
GrottoCellars.com
grot·to   (grŏt'ō)   
n.   pl. grot·toes or grot·tos

  1. A small cave or cavern.

  2. An artificial structure or excavation made to resemble a cave or cavern.


[Alteration of Italian grotta, from Vulgar Latin *grupta, from Latin crypta, vault; see crypt.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

grotto 
1617, from It. grotta, ult. from L. crypta "vault, cavern," from Gk. krypte "hidden place" (see crypt). Terminal -o may be from its being spelled that way in many translations of Dante's "Divine Comedy."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

grotto

natural or artificial cave used as a decorative feature in 18th-century European gardens. Grottoes derived from natural caves were regarded in antiquity as dwelling places of divinities. Grottoes were often constructed from a fanciful arrangement of rocks, shells, bones, broken glass, and other strangely assorted objects and were commonly associated with water (see nymphaeum).

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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