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STALACTITE

 - 3 dictionary results

sta⋅lac⋅tite

  [stuh-lak-tahyt, stal-uhk-tahyt]
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–noun
a deposit, usually of calcium carbonate, shaped like an icicle, hanging from the roof of a cave or the like, and formed by the dripping of percolating calcareous water.
Origin:
1670–80; < NL stalactites < Gk stalakt(ós) dripping (stalag-, s. of stalássein to drip + -tos verbid suffix) + NL -ites -ite 1

Related forms:
stal⋅ac⋅tit⋅ic  [stal-uhk-tit-ik] , stal⋅ac⋅tit⋅i⋅cal, adjective
stal⋅ac⋅tit⋅i⋅cal⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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sta·lac·tite   (stə-lāk'tīt', stāl'ək-)   
n.  An icicle-shaped mineral deposit, usually calcite or aragonite, hanging from the roof of a cavern, formed from the dripping of mineral-rich water.

[New Latin stalactītēs, from Greek stalaktos, dripping, from stalassein, stalak-, to drip.]
sta·lac'ti·form' adj., stal'ac·tit'ic (stāl'āk-tĭt'ĭk, stə-lāk'-) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

stalactite 
1677, Anglicized from Mod.L. stalactites (used 1654 by Olaus Wormius), from Gk. stalaktos "dripping," from stalassein "to trickle," from PIE base *stag- "to seep, drip, drop" (cf. Ger. stallen, Lith. telziu "to urinate").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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