stalactite

From New Latin stalactites, from Ancient Greek σταλακτός (stalaktós, “dripping”).

• (US) IPA^(key): /stəˈlækˌtaɪt/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈstæl.əkˌtaɪt/

• Audio (Southern England)

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stalactite (plural stalactites)

1. (geology) A secondary mineral deposit of calcium carbonate or another mineral, in shapes similar to icicles, that hangs from the roof of a cave.

   Coordinate term: stalagmite

   • 1876, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], chapter XXXIII, in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Hartford, Conn.: The American Publishing Company, →OCLC:

     In one place, near at hand, a stalagmite had been slowly growing up from the ground for ages, builded by the water-drip from a stalactite overhead.

• speleothem
• calthemite

Borrowed from New Latin stalactites, from Ancient Greek σταλακτός (stalaktós).

• IPA^(key): /sta.lak.tit/

• Audio

  (file)

stalactite f (plural stalactites)

1. (geology) stalactite

   Antonym: stalagmite

2. icicle

• “stalactite”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.