Dictionary

cloaca en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /kləʉ̯ˈæɪ̯.kə/ (Australia)
• /kloˈe.kʌ/ (Scotland)
• /klɐʉ̯ˈæɪ̯.kə/ (New-Zealand)
• /kləʊ̯ˈeɪ̯.kə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /kloʊ̯ˈeɪ̯.kə/ (Canada, General-American)
• /kloːˈeː.ka/ (India)
• (US) audio
• /kloˈe.kə/ (Scotland)
• klō-ā′kə

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cloāca (“sewer”), related to cluō (“cleanse; purge”), but the derivation is uncertain.

Meanings

1. (figuratively, sometimes) A sewer.
   • The Thames, polluted with the filthy effusions of the cloacae. 1773, Gentleman's Magazine, number 43, page 598:
   • 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. 1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 266:
   • […] that tremendous cloaca of Pauperism […]
2. 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.
   • 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. 1822, John Mason Good, The Study of Medicine, volume I, page 7:
3. An outhouse or lavatory.
   • Only think of that cloaca being supplied daily with such dainty bibliographical treasures! 1880, William Blades, The Enemies of Books, page 55:
   • To every house […] a cloaca. 1840, Frederick Marryat, chapter XXIV, in Olla Podrida:
4. A duct through which gangrenous material escapes a body.
   • Across this shell [sc. of bone] small holes are eaten, by which the matter escapes, and which are called cloacae (Weidmann). 1846, Joseph François Malgaigne, translated by Frederick Brittan, Manual of Operative Surgery, page 172:
5. Structure in the embryo during the development of the reproductive and urinary systems.

Forms

Deriveds

cloacinal · cloacalingus · persistent cloaca · cloacitis · cloacal

Hypernyms

external genitalia

Synonyms

see: vent (duct) · bathroom (outhouse or lavatory) · see: sewer (sewer)

Translations (30)

ca cloaca (anatomical feature of birds, reptiles, etc.) · es cloaca (anatomical feature of birds, reptiles, etc.) · pt cloaca (anatomical feature of birds, reptiles, etc.) · sv kloaköppning (anatomical feature of birds, reptiles, etc.) · ja 総排出腔 (anatomical feature of birds, reptiles, etc.) · io kloako (anatomical feature of birds, reptiles, etc.) · ja 排出腔 (anatomical feature of birds, reptiles, etc.) · it fogna (anatomical feature of birds, reptiles, etc.) · fi kloaakki (anatomical feature of birds, reptiles, etc.) · vi huyệt (anatomical feature of birds, reptiles, etc.) · fr cloaque (anatomical feature of birds, reptiles, etc.) · id kloaka (anatomical feature of birds, reptiles, etc.) · nl cloaca (anatomical feature of birds, reptiles, etc.) · ht kloak (anatomical feature of birds, reptiles, etc.) · he בִּיב (anatomical feature of birds, reptiles, etc.) · sw kiloaka (anatomical feature of birds, reptiles, etc.) · el αμάρα (anatomical feature of birds, reptiles, etc.) · mk клоака (anatomical feature of birds, reptiles, etc.) · hu kloáka (anatomical feature of birds, reptiles, etc.) · de Kloake (anatomical feature of birds, reptiles, etc.) · it cloaca (anatomical feature of birds, reptiles, etc.) · ru клоа́ка (anatomical feature of birds, reptiles, etc.) · ro cloacă (anatomical feature of birds, reptiles, etc.) · eo kloako (anatomical feature of birds, reptiles, etc.) · et kloaak (anatomical feature of birds, reptiles, etc.) · cmn 泄殖腔 (anatomical feature of birds, reptiles, etc.) · bg клоа́ка (anatomical feature of birds, reptiles, etc.) · vi lỗ huyệt (anatomical feature of birds, reptiles, etc.) · ga clóáca (anatomical feature of birds, reptiles, etc.) · cs kloaka (anatomical feature of birds, reptiles, etc.)

wikidata: Q19035