stalactite

English

Group of stalactites in Brazil.

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

Noun

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.
   • 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.

   Coordinate term: stalagmite

Derived terms

• stalactic
• stalactical

 

Related terms

• speleothem
• calthemite

Translations

mineral deposit hanging from the roof of a cave

• Armenian: շթաքար (hy) (štʿakʿar)
• Belarusian: сталакты́т m (stalaktýt), сталякты́т m (staljaktýt)
• Bulgarian: сталакти́т m (stalaktít)
• Catalan: estalactita (ca) f, caramell (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 鐘乳石／钟乳石 (zh) (zhōngrǔshí)

• Czech: stalaktit m
• Dutch: druipsteenpegel m, druipsteen (nl) m
• Esperanto: stalaktito
• Faroese: dropasteinur m
• Finnish: tippukivipuikko, stalaktiitti (fi)
• French: stalactite (fr) f
• Georgian: სტალაქტიტი (sṭalakṭiṭi)
• German: Stalaktit (de) m
• Greek: σταλακτίτης (el) m (stalaktítis)
• Hebrew: נָטִיף‎ (he) m (natíf)
• Hungarian: sztalaktit (hu)
• Irish: aolchuisne m
• Italian: stalattite (it) f
• Japanese: 鍾乳石 (しょうにゅうせき, shōnyūseki)
• Korean: 종유석(鐘乳石) (ko) (jong'yuseok)
• Latvian: stalaktīts m
• Maori: keoiri
• Polish: sopleniec m, stalaktyt (pl) m
• Portuguese: estalactite f
• Russian: сталакти́т (ru) m (stalaktít)
• Slovak: stalaktit m
• Slovene: stalaktit m
• Spanish: estalactita (es) f
• Swedish: stalaktit (sv) c
• Tagalog: estalaktita, tulumbato
• Thai: หินย้อย (th) (hǐn-yɔ́ɔi)
• Turkish: sarkıt (tr), damla taş (tr), stalaktit (tr)
• Ukrainian: сталакти́т m (stalaktýt)
• Vietnamese: thạch nhũ (vi)

French

des stalactites

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sta.lak.tit/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

stalactite f (plural stalactites)

1. (geology) stalactite

   Antonym: stalagmite

2. icicle

Further reading

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