souterrain

American  

[soo-tuh-reyn, soo-tuh-reyn] / ˌsu təˈreɪn, ˈsu təˌreɪn /

noun

Chiefly Archaeology.

1. a subterranean passage or structure; grotto.

---

souterrain British  

/ ˈsuːtəˌreɪn /

noun

1. archaeol an underground chamber or passage

---

Etymology

Origin of souterrain

1725–35; < French: literally, underground, calque of Latin subterrāneus; sous-sous, terrain

Example Sentences

Selon les plans du promoteur immobilier, ce bout de terrain deviendrait l’entrée d’un parking souterrain.

From New York Times

There is always resistance to borrowing foreign words into French and "souterrain" is sometimes used instead, but "tunnel" was preferred by the builders of the St Etienne-Lyons railway as early as the the 1820s, and anyway it is French in origin and actually looks quite French.

From BBC

What to buy: The EP Egypt was released this week by Souterrain Transmissions.

From The Guardian

My best thanks are also due to Mrs. Hobson for allowing me to make use of her photograph of the entrance to this souterrain.

From Project Gutenberg

I visited one of their cashels above Dungiven, under which there is a souterrain, and I also went to one on a hill above Downey's pier at Rosapenna.

From Project Gutenberg