8 results for: tectonic

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

tec·ton·ic

Audio Help [tek-ton-ik] Pronunciation Key

–adjective

1.	of or pertaining to building or construction; constructive; architectural.

Geology.

a.	pertaining to the structure of the earth's crust.

b.	referring to the forces or conditions within the earth that cause movements of the crust.

c.	designating the results of such movements: tectonic valleys.

[Origin: 1650–60; < LL tectonicus < Gk tektonikós pertaining to construction, equiv. to tekton- (s. of téktōn) carpenter + -ikos -ic

]

—Related forms

tec·ton·i·cal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
tectonic

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

tec·ton·ic Audio Help (těk-tŏn'ĭk) Pronunciation Key
adj.

Geology Relating to, causing, or resulting from structural deformation of the earth's crust.
1. Relating to construction or building.
2. Architectural.

[Late Latin tectonicus, from Greek tektonikos, from tektōn, builder; see teks- in Indo-European roots.]

tec·ton'i·cal·ly adv.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
tectonic

1656, "of or relating to building," from L.L. tectonicus, from Gk. tektonikos "pertaining to building," from tekton (gen. tektonos) "builder, carpenter," from PIE base *tek- "to make" (see texture). The geological sense is recorded from 1894. Tectonics in the geological sense is first attested 1899; earlier it meant "building or constructive arts in general" (1850).

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

tectonic
adjective
1.	pertaining to the structure or movement of the earth's crust; "tectonic plates"; "tectonic valleys"
2.	of or pertaining to construction or architecture

The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

tectonic Audio Help (těk-tŏn'ĭk) Pronunciation Key
Relating to the forces involved in plate tectonics or the structural features resulting from them.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Tectonic

Tec*ton"ic\, a. 1. (Biol.) Structural.

2. (Geol. & Phys. Geog.) Of, pert. to, or designating, the rock structures and external forms resulting from the deformation of the earth's crust; as, tectonic arches or valleys.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Tectonic

Tec*ton"ic\, a. [L. tectonicus, Gr. ?, fr. ?, ?, a carpenter, builder.] Of or pertaining to building or construction; architectural.

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