View synonyms for massif

massif

[ ma-seef, mas-if; French ma-seef ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits.
a large elevated block of old complex rocks resistant to both erosion and crustal folding.
a band or zone of the earth's crust raised or depressed as a unit and bounded by faults.

massif

/ ˈmæsiːf; masif /

a geologically distinct mass of rock or a series of connected masses forming the peaks of a mountain range
a topographically high part of the earth's crust that is bounded by faults and may be shifted by tectonic movements

massif

/ mă-sēf′ /

A large mountain mass or compact group of connected mountains forming an independent portion of a range. A massif often consists of rocks that are more rigid than the surrounding rocks.

Origin of massif¹

1515–25; < French, noun use of massif massive

Origin of massif¹

C19: from French, noun use of massif massive

Its most striking feature is the mountainous and eruptive area known as the Massif Central, which covers south-central France.

Massif will publish it at his own expense, and you will appear before the public in one month.

Massif ought to pay him in a few days five hundred francs for the second edition of his book; but what is a handful of napoleons?

Beyond that it swells out into the vast massif of Anambaruin-ula, which is traversed by at least three minor parallel chains.

C'est un massif compacte, et presque partout le mme, de minral de plomb et argent pauvre, pntr de pyrite sulphureuse.

April 18, 2024petrichor

[pet-ri-kawr]

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