stillicide

English

Etymology

Anglicisation of Latin stillicidium.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈstɪlɪsʌɪd/

Noun

stillicide (countable and uncountable, plural stillicides)

1. Water falling in drops, especially in a row from the eaves of a roof, or from icicles or stalactites.
   • 1962, Vladimir Nabokov, Pale Fire:

     Whatever in my field of vision dwelt – / An indoor scene, hickory leaves, the svelte / Stilettos of a frozen stillicide – / Was printed on my eyelids' nether side / Where it would tarry for an hour or two, / And while this lasted all I had to do / Was close my eyes to reproduce the leaves, / Or indoor scene, or trophies of the eaves.

2. (law, historical, uncountable) Synonym of stillicidium
3. A clause written into a land agreement that prohibits the tennant from building so close to the boundary that it would cause the water dripping from the eaves to fall on the neighbouring property.
4. The ground onto which the dripping water from the eaves falls. In this sense it means the same as eavesdrop or eavesdrip.