tufa

[ too-fuh, tyoo- ]

nounGeology.
  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 of tufa

1
1760–70; <Italian tufo<Latin tōfus

Other words from tufa

  • tu·fa·ceous [too-fey-shuhs, tyoo-], /tuˈfeɪ ʃəs, tyu-/, adjective

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How to use tufa in a sentence

  • From this second turning, the gallery continued close to the line of separation of the marls and the tufas.

    History of Julius Caesar Vol. 2 of 2 | Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, 1808-1873.
  • Going up the Rio Negro, one sees the grey sandstones and Tertiary tufas which form the cliffs, on both sides of the lower valley.

    The Argentine Republic | Pierre Denis

British Dictionary definitions for tufa

tufa

/ (ˈtjuːfə) /


noun
  1. a soft porous rock consisting of calcium carbonate deposited from springs rich in lime: Also called: calc-tufa

Origin of tufa

1
C18: from Italian tufo, from Late Latin tōfus

Derived forms of tufa

  • tufaceous (tjuːˈfeɪʃəs), adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for tufa

tufa

[ tōō ]


  1. A soft, friable, and porous sedimentary rock consisting of calcium carbonate and formed by the evaporation of water, especially at the mouth of a hot spring or on a drying lakebed. It is similar to, but harder than, travertine.

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