被磨出來的坑
這一支的凹處都不是有人挖的，是東西反覆摩擦出來的；差別只在摩擦的是輪胎還是水裡的石頭。
noun · B2
A hole worn into the surface of a road by traffic, rain and cold weather — deep enough to bang a wheel, spill your drink, or knock a rider off balance.
路面坑洞
核心畫面
Picture a hollow about the size and shape of a cooking pot sunk into a flat surface. The surface is meant to be level, and here it is not: something has gone down into it. Whether the hollow was rubbed away over years or cut on purpose, the picture is the same — a pot-shaped gap where flat ground should be.
可以想成一個大小、形狀都像鍋子的凹處陷在一片平面裡。那個平面本來應該是平的，偏偏這裡凹下去了。至於這個凹處是被磨了好…更多收起
可以想成一個大小、形狀都像鍋子的凹處陷在一片平面裡。那個平面本來應該是平的，偏偏這裡凹下去了。至於這個凹處是被磨了好幾年磨出來的，還是特地開出來的，畫面其實一樣：平面上出現一個鍋子形狀的缺口。pothole 的幾個用法，都是這個畫面換一個地點——馬路、河床、地底、爐台。From the word’s history
The evidence records the road and cave senses as dialect pot (a pit or hollow) plus hole, with the cave sense attested from at least 1809; it records the stove sense separately as pot (a cooking pot) plus hole, attested from at least 1811.
來源把這個字記成兩條路線：路面和洞穴那一支是方言的 pot（坑、凹洞）加 hole，洞穴義至少可追到 1809 年；爐子那一支則記成 pot（鍋子）加 hole，至少可追到 1811 年。也就是說「鍋子形狀」這個畫面好用，但不是同一個歷史來源。
Wiktionary entries for pothole, etymology 1 and etymology 2 (kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:1097790216 / 1097826687), supplied in the evidence packet
Three branches
一路往地底下去的深洞
一樣是地上一個凹口，但這個凹口沒有底：它不是一個碗，是一條往下的通道。
noun · C1
In British English, a deep, narrow hole that runs a long way down into the ground, made slowly by water cutting through rock; it often opens into a cave system below.
豎坑；地下洞穴口
特地開出來放鍋子的孔
畫面同樣是「鍋子形狀的洞」，但這個洞是人做的，而且來源記載它走的是另一條字源路線（pot＝鍋子）。
noun · C1
A round opening in the top of a cooking stove that a pot sits down inside, so the pot is closer to the fire than it would be standing on the surface.
爐面的鍋孔