vug

American  

[vuhg, voog] / vʌg, vʊg /

Or vugg,

noun

Geology.

1. a small cavity in a rock or vein, often lined with crystals.

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vug British  

/ vʌɡ /

noun

1. mining a small cavity in a rock or vein, usually lined with crystals

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Other Word Forms

• vuggy adjective

Etymology

Origin of vug

First recorded in 1810–20; from Cornish vooga “cave”; compare Latin fovea “pit”

Explanation

A vug is a small cavity, or empty space, inside a rock. A vug may or may not be lined with crystals. The word vug comes from the Cornish word for "cave," vooga. (Cornish is a Celtic language that used to be spoken in Cornwall, a region in southwestern England, but it died out around 1800.) Unlike a geode, a vug does not necessarily have a spherical shape, nor is it always lined with crystals. But vugs can have beautiful crystal formations, such as quartz or calcite. Natural history or geological museums often display vugs.

Example Sentences

Vug, vug, n. a Cornish miner's name for a cavity in a rock.—adj.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various