Why does ‘Cave’ in Latin mean ‘Beware’?

By Baldmichael Theresoluteprotector’sson

I found this picture and website when browsing the internet.

This is the entrance into the black cave (or Ashkawti Tarik in Kurdish), which is one of the most important caves of Hazar Merd area. It is a single lofty chamber 11 by 12 meter wide. The caves date back to 50,000 BCE and it was excavated by Dorothy Garrod in 1928 CE. It lies 13 km to the west of modern Sulaimaniya city, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.

From

https://www.worldhistory.org/image/2770/the-dark-cave-of-hazar-merd-group-of-caves/

by Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin

published on 20 July 2014

It got me thinking as to why ‘Cave’ means ‘Beware!’  A cave as a noun is defined as

A hole, depression, or gap in earth or rock, whether natural or man-made.

From

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cave#Etymology_1

Caves can be used as habitation for humans, even in the UK we have some examples including at Kinver Edge in Staffordshire to the west of Birmingham. The area is in the ownership of the National Trust.

These are the Holy Austin rock houses which were inhabited until the 1960s according to Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinver_Edge

The of course in French ‘cave’ is typically a cellar or basement, and seen on road signs as a wine cellar.

For example

All of which is fine and dandy but why should ‘Cave’ mean ‘Beware!’ in Latin?

This is straightforward. Cave is pronounced ‘Kaye vee’ by the way. It was

especially used by Doctors of Medicine, when they want to warn each other (e.g.: “cave nephrolithiases” in order to warn about side effects of an uricosuric). Spoken aloud in some British public schools by pupils to warn each other of impending authority.

From

https://www.latin-is-simple.com/en/vocabulary/phrase/276/

I can vouch for the using in British public schools when I was at one many moons ago.

So ‘Cave!’ is a warning signal, i.e. beware, be wary, be careful, someone or something dangerous is coming.

For example, the roof may be fragile and might collapse at any moment or a cave may contain something dangerous like a bear. I note ‘Beware’ is an anagram of ‘we bear’.

It could also be ‘we bare’, we naked, such as coming upon someone naked who doesn’t wish to be seen that way. Both parties may be embarrassed.

Which reminds me of the Garden of Eden, although it was Adam and Eve who were embarrassed after their entrapment by the serpent and believing his lies, and not the Lord God.

Beware is also an anagram of ‘are web’, a spider’s web like Shelob from Lord of the Rings lurking in her lair below Cirith Ungol (“Pass of the Spider”), along the path that the Hobbits Frodo Baggins and Sam Gamgee took into Mordor.

It is even an anagram of ‘bee raw’, and a swarm of bees may take refuge in a cave and create a nest.

There are other anagrams and this amused me.

‘bra ewe’

And believe it or not there is a picture on the internet from this link!

https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/a-photo-of-sheep-in-bra-has-caught-the-fancy-of-the-internet-heres-why-2441917.html

Photo by Franklin Vets Lifestyle Farms

I highlight one further anagram

‘Web Era’

We are in the era of the web, the World Wide Web.

The web that can entangle us to be taken and ‘eaten’ by the spider in the middle, the equivalent of Shelob.

And Shelob anagrams to, among other things, to ‘le bosh’.

‘Bosh’ means empty talk, nonsense.

https://www.thefreedictionary.com/bosh

Now I could take this on and on, but for now let’s just say beware or ‘Cave’ the World Wide Web as you don’t know what you may find in there to attack you!

A cave may contain danger and you should beware.

So that is why ‘Cave’ in Latin mean ‘Beware’

Look out for the sign of Baldmichael, he will be back!

P.S. I thought this link was interesting.

The meaning of the dream symbol: Cave

http://dreamicus.com/cave.html

If you wish for more examination of words look for TAPPER’S BAR on my World Menu