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ca·ve·at (kăvē-ät′, kävē-, kāvē-ăt′)
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n.
1.
a. A warning or caution: made a recommendation with many caveats.
b. A qualification or explanation.
2. Law A formal notice filed by an interested party requesting postponement of a court proceeding or other action until the filer can be heard.
v. ca·ve·at·ed, ca·ve·at·ing, ca·ve·ats or ca·ve·at·ted or ca·ve·at·ting
v.intr.
Law
To submit a caveat.
v.tr.
1. Law To make a caveat to (a will, for example).
2. Informal To qualify with a warning or clarification: The spokesperson caveated the statement with a reminder that certain facts were still unknown.
[From Latin, let him beware, third person sing. present subjunctive of cavēre, to beware.]
cave·a·tor n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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