souterrain

[ soo-tuh-reyn, soo-tuh-reyn ]

noun

, Chiefly Archaeology.

1. a subterranean passage or structure; grotto.

souterrain

/ ˈsuːtəˌreɪn /

noun

1. archaeol an underground chamber or passage

Word History and Origins

Origin of souterrain¹

1725–35; < French: literally, underground, calque of Latin subterrāneus; sous-sous, terrain

Word History and Origins

Origin of souterrain¹

C18: from French

Example Sentences

Selon les plans du promoteur immobilier, ce bout de terrain deviendrait l’entrée d’un parking souterrain.

From New York Times

The diggers of the souterrain had been executed by their own priest-king, to keep the secret of it All that was in sn millennium.

From Literature

There is always resistance to borrowing foreign words into French and "souterrain" is sometimes used instead, but "tunnel" was preferred by the builders of the St Etienne-Lyons railway as early as the the 1820s, and anyway it is French in origin and actually looks quite French.

From BBC

What to buy: The EP Egypt was released this week by Souterrain Transmissions.

From The Guardian

La caverne du bandit avait �t� d�couverte et forc�e par quelque p�tre courageux, qui y avait p�n�tr� vaillamment, malgr� la terreur que ce lieu souterrain et formidable inspirait, y avait surpris le voleur et l'avait �trangl�.

From Project Gutenberg