keep cave en · VERB
Pronunciation
- kēp kāʹvē
- /kiːp ˈkeɪvi/
Etymology
Used in Southern England. See cave (“look out, beware”).
Meanings
-
(UK, qualifier:school slang) To maintain vigilance.
I vote we go down and explore. No one will come up this time o' day. We needn't keep cavé.
1899 January, Rudyard Kipling, “An Unsavoury Interlude”, in Stalky & Co., London: Macmillan & Co., published 1899, →OCLC, page 73:Pip was mounting guard at the shed, and had undertaken to get Judy safely away, and Bunty had been stationed on the back verandah to keep cave and whistle three times if there was any danger.
1912, Ethel Turner, Seven Little Australians, page 154:I'll keep cave for ten minutes.
1911, Cosmo Hamilton, “Why Cupid Came to Earl’s Court”, in Short Plays for Small Stages, page 9:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| kept cave | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| kept cave | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| keeping cave | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| keeps cave | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic |