volcano

[vol-key-noh] /vɒlˈkeɪ noʊ/

noun, plural volcanoes, volcanos.

a vent in the earth's crust through which lava, steam, ashes, etc., are expelled, either continuously or at irregular intervals.

a mountain or hill, usually having a cuplike crater at the summit, formed around such a vent from the ash and lava expelled through it.

Origin

1605-15; < Italian < Latin Volcānus, variant of Vulcānus Vulcan

Can be confused

caldera, fumarole, geyser, volcano.

Examples from the web for volcanoes

The scientists now believe that volcanoes can produce two kinds of lightning during an eruption.
To a lesser extent, they also come from natural processes such as volcanoes and forest fires.
Moreover volcanoes spewing ash into the atmosphere can have effects on the climate too.
But it is tiny, and wrinkled, the lava of long-exhausted volcanoes furrowing and bending the landscape this way and that.
Some of the gases emitted by volcanoes also cool the air.
volcanoes can spew out clouds of ash, spreading a cooling sunshade over the planet.
See how much you know about the explosive mountains known as volcanoes.
Active volcanoes, however, make up only a small fraction of all mountains of fire.
Gas-belching underwater volcanoes may have met their match.
He believed woolly mammoths, erupting volcanoes, and a mountain of pure salt awaited them.

British Dictionary definitions for volcanoes

volcano

/vɒlˈkeɪnəʊ/

noun (pl) -noes, -nos

an opening in the earth's crust from which molten lava, rock fragments, ashes, dust, and gases are ejected from below the earth's surface

a mountain formed from volcanic material ejected from a vent in a central crater

Word Origin

C17: from Italian, from Latin VolcānusVulcan1, whose forges were believed to be responsible for volcanic rumblings

Word Origin and History for volcanoes

volcano

1610s, from Italian vulcano "burning mountain," from Latin Vulcanus "Vulcan," Roman god of fire, also "fire, flames, volcano" (see Vulcan). The name was first applied to Mt. Etna by the Romans, who believed it was the forge of Vulcan.

volcanoes in Science

volcano

(vŏl-kā'nō)

An opening in the Earth's crust from which lava, ash, and hot gases flow or are ejected during an eruption.
A usually cone-shaped mountain formed by the materials issuing from such an opening. Volcanoes are usually associated with plate boundaries but can also occur within the interior areas of a tectonic plate. Their shape is directly related to the type of magma that flows from them—the more viscous the magma, the steeper the sides of the volcano. ◇ A volcano composed of gently sloping sheets of basaltic lava from successive volcanic eruptions is called a shield volcano. The lava flows associated with shield volcanos, such as Mauna Loa, on Hawaii, are very fluid. ◇ A volcano composed of steep, alternating layers of lava and pyroclastic materials, including ash, is called a stratovolcano. Stratovolcanos are associated with relatively viscous lava and with explosive eruptions. They are the most common form of large continental volcanos. Mount Vesuvius, Mount Fuji, and Mount St. Helens are stratovolcanos. Also called composite volcano. See more at hot spot, island arc, tectonic boundary, volcanic arc.

volcanoes in Culture

volcano definition

A cone-shaped mountain or hill created by molten material that rises from the interior of the Earth to the surface.

Note: Volcanoes tend to occur along the edges of tectonic plates.

Note: Eruptions and lava flows associated with them can be very destructive. (See Mount Saint Helens and Mount Vesuvius.)