Usage Note
Cave is the plural of cava (quarry, excavation site), which is always feminine: la cava, le cave. A cava is an open-pit site where stone, marble, sand, or gravel is extracted; the most famous Italian example is the Carrara marble quarries (le cave di Carrara). Do not confuse with caverna (cave, cavern) or grotta (grotto) — a cava is man-made.
Examples
"Le cave di marmo di Carrara sono famose nel mondo."
Natural Translation
The marble quarries of Carrara are world-famous.
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