tu·fa

[too-fuh, tyoo-]
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) tuff 2 .

Origin:
1760–70; < Italian tufo < Latin tōfus

tu·fa·ceous [too-fey-shuhs, tyoo-] , adjective
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Collins
World English Dictionary
tufa (ˈtjuːfə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
Also called: calc-tufa a soft porous rock consisting of calcium carbonate deposited from springs rich in lime
 
[C18: from Italian tufo, from Late Latin tōfus]
 
tufaceous
 
adj

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00:10
Tufa is always a great word to know.
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
Etymonline
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, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
tufa   (t'fə)  Pronunciation Key 
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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Example sentences
Tufa, deposited by a combination of organic and inorganic processes, is widespread.
When the lake level falls, the tufa formations are exposed.
The tufa towers formed entirely underwater and have been exposed due to the decline in lake level.
Tufa is a rock formation composed of calcium carbonate that forms underwater in places where lake water mixes with spring water.
Images for tufa
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