pothole en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
From dialectal pot (“pit, hollow, cavity”) + hole. The "cave" senses, attested since at least 1809 (as pot-hole), may be from Middle English pot, potte (“a deep hole for a mine, or from peat-digging”), of uncertain origin; perhaps related to English pit, pote, or pot. Compare Scots pott, patt (“a pit dug in the ground; coalpit”).
Meanings
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A shallow pit or other edged depression in a road's surface, especially when caused by erosion, weather or traffic.
The previous Elantra had three problems: The steering hero-worshiped Novocain, occupants grew hoarse from shouting over road noise, and large potholes betrayed a lack of structure.
2016 April 28, Tom Voelk, “Video Review: Hyundai Elantra Offers Fewer Curves, but a Better Ride”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 08 Nov 2020:Labour's Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said: "There is a cost-of-living crisis, and the Prime Minister blew nearly £1m of public money on an utterly infeasible vanity project. That's enough to fill 18,000 potholes. This shows the Tories' sheer disrespect for public money."
2022 February 9, “Network News: Prime Minister "blew nearly £1m" on Northern Ireland bridge study”, in RAIL, number 950, page 20:I was so tired that potholes, fumes and noise aside, I slept regardless, my head rag-dolling from side to side.
2005, Paul Carter, Don't Tell Mum I Work on the Rigs, Crows Nest: Allen and Unwin, page 86:
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A pit formed in the bed of a turbulent stream.
2002, May-June, Grand River Conservation Authority (Canada) Newsletter The earliest ideas on the creation of potholes are that they were associated with "moulins de glacier" (glacier mills) formed where surface streams on glaciers and ice sheets fall into holes in the ice. Water entering these surficial holes was believed to impact on the bedrock beneath creating a large pothole. The "Moulin Hypothesis", first suggested in 1874, continued to be accepted by many authors until the 1950s. However, commencing in the 1930s, other authors have suggested dissatisfaction with the moulin hypothesis, largely on the grounds that it failed to explain how ice could remain stable long enough for the "giant" potholes to form and why many potholes (like those at Rockwood) were present in large numbers.
- A vertical cave system, often found in limestone.
- A pit resulting from unauthorized excavation by treasure-hunters or vandals.
- (Australia) A shallow hole dug for the purpose of prospecting for opal or gold.
- (slang) A hyperlink with text displayed on a page that is different from the title of the page to which the text links; a piped link.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| potholes | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
potholed · potholing · potholer · potholey
Relateds
pothunter (pit resulting from unauthorized excavation) · sinkhole (piped link, TV Tropes)
Synonyms
giant kettle (large pit in the bed of a stream)
Translations (68)
it buca (a hole in a road) · ru ры́твина (a hole in a road) · it scavo (hole in a burial mound resulting from unauthorized excavators) · cmn 坑洞 (a hole in a road) · kix khàkìk (pit in the bed of a stream) · pl wytopisko (pit in the bed of a stream) · pl wyrwa (a hole in a road) · tr yol çukuru (a hole in a road) · ca sot (a hole in a road) · gl lacada (a hole in a road) · ru уха́б (a hole in a road) · ga linntreog (a hole in a road) · gv towl (a hole in a road) · es poceta (a hole in a road) · fi kuoppa (hole in a burial mound resulting from unauthorized excavators) · ka ღრანტე (a hole in a road) · ja 甌穴 (a hole in a road) · eo vojkavo (a hole in a road) · it depressione (pit in the bed of a stream) · kix khàkìk (a hole in a road) · uk я́ма (a hole in a road) · hu kátyú (a hole in a road) · scn scaffa (a hole in a road) · as ডোং (a hole in a road) · gl baltre (a hole in a road) · bg дупка (a hole in a road) · it affossamento (pit in the bed of a stream) · ro hârtop (a hole in a road) · sv jättegryta (pit in the bed of a stream) · gl valagota (a hole in a road) · is brothola (a hole in a road) · gl cachón (pit in the bed of a stream) · gl fochanca (a hole in a road) · pl wybój (a hole in a road) · da jættegryde (pit in the bed of a stream) · el λακκούβα (a hole in a road) · fi kuoppa (a hole in a road) · fr nid de poule (a hole in a road) · gl goio (a hole in a road) · es bache (a hole in a road) · ca clot (a hole in a road) · gl cachafundo (pit in the bed of a stream) · vi ổ voi (a hole in a road) · vi ổ gà (a hole in a road) · cs výtluk (a hole in a road) · es hoyanco (a hole in a road) · af maalgat (pit in the bed of a stream) · uk вибо́їна (a hole in a road) · mk дупка (a hole in a road) · de Schlagloch (a hole in a road) · as ডোঙা (a hole in a road) · cs výmol (a hole in a road) · fr fondrière (a hole in a road) · tl lubak (a hole in a road) · ru я́ма (a hole in a road) · sv potthål (a hole in a road) · cy twll (a hole in a road) · cmn 甌穴 /瓯穴 (a hole in a road) · it fosso (pit in the bed of a stream) · pl dziura wykopana przez łowcę (hole in a burial mound resulting from unauthorized excavators) · nl gat in het wegdek (a hole in a road) · pt buraco (na estrada) (a hole in a road) · fi hiidenkirnu (pit in the bed of a stream) · ro hârtoapă (a hole in a road) · eo stratotruo (a hole in a road) · ru вы́боина (a hole in a road) · gl cono de violación (hole in a burial mound resulting from unauthorized excavators) · it avvallamento (pit in the bed of a stream)