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TUFACEOUS

 - 3 dictionary results

tu⋅fa

  [too-fuh, tyoo-]
Use TUFACEOUS in a Sentence
–noun Geology.
1. Also called calcareous tufa, calc-tufa, calc-tuff. a porous limestone formed from calcium carbonate deposited by springs or the like. Compare travertine.
2. (not in technical use) tuff2.
Origin:
1760–70; < It tufo < L tōfus

Related forms:
tu⋅fa⋅ceous  [too-fey-shuhs, tyoo-] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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tu·fa   (tōō'fə, tyōō'-)   
n.  

  1. The calcareous and siliceous rock deposits of springs, lakes, or ground water.

  2. See tuff.


[Obsolete Italian tufa, tufo, from Latin tōfus.]
tu·fa'ceous (-fā'shəs) 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

tufa 
"a porous rock," 1770, from It. tufa, from L. tophus "loose, porous volcanic rock," an Oscan-Umbrian loan-word.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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