monolithic

English

Etymology

From French monolithique; by surface analysis, monolith +‎ -ic.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌmɒn.əˈlɪθ.ɪk/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌmɑ.nəˈlɪθ.ɪk/
• Rhymes: -ɪθɪk

Adjective

monolithic (comparative more monolithic, superlative most monolithic)

1. Of or resembling a monolith.
2. (engineering) Consisting of a single piece of homogeneous material as opposed to a composite material or an assembly of multiple parts.

   A monolithic chunk of titanium with facets for cutting, wrenching, and prying.

3. (figurative) Having a massive, unchanging structure that does not permit individual variation.

   Synonym: homogeneous

   Mainstream culture is hardly the monolithic block that its caricaturization often implies.

   • 2017, Adam Rutherford, A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived, The Experiment, →ISBN, page 71:

     Farming today is industrial, and dominated by monolithic corporations who control almost all the food we eat.

4. (figurative) Of a single structure, a singular component; instead of an assembly.

   Monolithic space stations only have a single station module.

5. (software engineering) Consisting of a single program or codebase.

   Antonym: modular

   Monolithic kernels perform all operating system duties in kernel space.

   • 2020, L. S. Jayashree, G. Selvakumar, Getting Started with Enterprise Internet of Things […] , Springer Nature, →ISBN, page 103:

     In the monolithic architecture software system is deployed as a single solution, in which functionally distinguishable aspects are all interwoven.

Derived terms

• monolithicity
• monolithicness

 

Related terms

• -ic
• lith-
• -lith
• lithic
• mono-
• monolith

 

Translations

of or resembling a monolith

• Belarusian: маналі́тны (manalítny)
• Bulgarian: монолитен (bg) (monoliten)
• Catalan: monolític
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 巨石 (zh) (Jùshí), 一块石头似的

• Dutch: monolithisch (nl)
• Finnish: monoliittinen (fi)
• French: monolithique (fr)
• German: monolithisch (de)
• Greek: μονολιθικός (el) m (monolithikós)
• Irish: monailiteach
• Japanese: 一枚岩の (ja) (ichimaiiwa no)
• Portuguese: monolítico
• Russian: моноли́тный (ru) (monolítnyj)
• Spanish: monolítico
• Ukrainian: монолі́тний (monolítnyj)

having a massive, unchanging structure that does not permit individual variation

• Belarusian: маналі́тны (manalítny)
• Bulgarian: монолитен (bg) (monoliten)
• Catalan: monolític
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 整體／整体 (zh) (zhěngtǐ)一統／一统 (zh) (zhěngtǐyītǒng), 坚如磐石的

• Dutch: monolithisch (nl)
• Finnish: monoliittinen (fi)
• French: monolithique (fr)
• German: monolithisch (de)
• Irish: monailiteach
• Japanese: 一枚岩の (ja) (ichimaiiwa no)
• Russian: моноли́тный (ru) (monolítnyj)
• Spanish: monolítico
• Ukrainian: монолі́тний (monolítnyj)