spelunker

American  

[spi-luhng-ker] / spɪˈlʌŋ kər /

noun

1. a person who explores caves, especially as a hobby.

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spelunker British  

/ spɪˈlʌŋkə /

noun

1. a person whose hobby is the exploration and study of caves

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• spelunking
  noun

Etymology

Origin of spelunker

1940–45; < Latin spēlunc ( a ) cave (≪ Greek spêlynx, stem spēlyng-, akin to spḗlaion; cf. spelaean) + -er ¹

Explanation

A spelunker is an explorer of caves. If you hope to one day be a spelunker, you probably have a love of dark, damp spaces and headlamps. This word may seem to have German written all over it but it's actually Latinate: from spelunk, meaning "cave." The word designates an explorer of caves and is used mostly in American English, in preference to the more technical and refined speleologist. You can describe what a spelunker does as spelunking, or if you want to make sure you're understood, you can call it caving, or in the United Kingdom and Ireland, potholing.