1. A raised roadway, as across water or marshland.
2. A paved highway.

[Middle English caucewei : cauce, raised road (from Norman French caucie , from Medieval Latin calciāta (via), paved (road) , from Latin calx, calc-, limestone; see calx) + wei, road (variant of way; see way).]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.