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cloaca

[kloh-ey-kuh]
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noun, plural clo·a·cae [kloh-ey-see] /kloʊˈeɪ si/.
  1. Zoology.
    1. the common cavity into which the intestinal, urinary, and generative canals open in birds, reptiles, amphibians, many fishes, and certain mammals.
    2. a similar cavity in invertebrates.
  2. a sewer, especially an ancient sewer.
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Origin of cloaca

1650–60; < Latin clo(u)āca, cluāca sewer, drain; probably akin to Greek klýzein to wash, wash away
Related formsclo·a·cal, adjectivepre·clo·a·cal, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for cloaca

Historical Examples

  • He had discarded his first instinct, which was to hide in the intricate Tetrahyde cloaca.

    The Status Civilization

    Robert Sheckley

  • A perforation leading into the cloaca at the hind end of this.

  • Agrippa, who cleaned out the Cloaca, navigated its whole length in a boat.

    Walks in Rome

    Augustus J.C. Hare

  • The cavity of the allantois, by means of its stalk passing through the umbilicus, is of course continuous with the cloaca.

  • In the female the process is continued till the Mllerian duct opens, close to the Wolffian duct, into the cloaca.

British Dictionary definitions for cloaca

cloaca

noun plural -cae (-kiː)
  1. a cavity in the pelvic region of most vertebrates, except higher mammals, and certain invertebrates, into which the alimentary canal and the genital and urinary ducts open
  2. a sewer
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Derived Formscloacal, adjective

Word Origin

C18: from Latin: sewer; related to Greek kluzein to wash out
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for cloaca

n.

1650s, euphemism for "underground sewer," from Latin cloaca "public sewer, drain," from cluere "to cleanse," from PIE root *kleue- "to wash, clean" (cf. Greek klyzein "to dash over, wash off, rinse out," klysma "liquid used in a washing;" Lithuanian šluoju "to sweep;" Old English hlutor, Gothic hlutrs, Old High German hlutar, German lauter "pure, clear"). Use in biology, in reference to eliminatory systems of lower animals, is from 1834. Related: Cloacal (1650s); cloacinal (1857).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
cloaca in Medicine

cloaca

(klō-ā′kə)
n.
  1. In early embryos, the entodermally lined chamber into which the hindgut and allantois empty.
  2. The common cavity into which the intestinal, genital, and urinary tracts open in vertebrates such as fish, reptiles, birds, and some mammals.
  3. An opening in a diseased bone containing a fragment of dead bone.
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Related formsclo•a′cal (-kəl) adj.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
cloaca in Science

cloaca

[klō-ā′kə]
Plural cloacae (klō-ā′sē′)
  1. The body cavity into which the intestinal, urinary, and genital canals empty in birds, reptiles, amphibians, most fish, and monotremes. The cloaca has an opening for expelling its contents from the body, and in females it serves as the depository for sperm. Also called vent
  2. See vent.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.