Cra"ter (kr?t?r),
n. [L. crater, cratera, a
mixing vessel, the mouth of a volcano, Gr. krath`r,
fr. keranny`nai to mix;
cf. Skr. çrī to
mix, çir to cook, çrā to cook. Cf. Grail, in Holy Grail.]
1. The basinlike opening or mouth of a volcano, through which the chief eruption comes; similarly, the mouth of a geyser, about which a cone
of silica is often built up.
2. (Mil.) The pit left by the explosion of a mine.
3. (Astron.)
A constellation of the southen hemisphere; -- called also
the Cup.
Hear it pronounced