Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A conical mineral deposit, usually calcite or aragonite, built up on the floor of a cavern, formed from the dripping of mineral-rich water.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Carbonate of lime deposited on the floor of a cavern. See stalactite.
Wiktionary
- n. geology A mineral deposit of calcium carbonate, in shapes similar to icicles, that lie on the ground of a cave.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Geol.) A deposit more or less resembling an inverted stalactite, formed by calcareous water dropping on the floors of caverns; hence, a similar deposit of other material.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a cylinder of calcium carbonate projecting upward from the floor of a limestone cave
Etymologies
- From Ancient Greek στάλαγμα ("drop") or σταλαγμός ("dripping"). (Wiktionary)
- New Latin stalagmītēs, a drop, from Greek stalagma, a drop, or stalagmos, dropping, both from stalassein, stalak-, to drip. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“: A 1,800-year-old stalagmite from a Chinese cave has revealed that, in the past, warmer years were associated with stronger East Asian monsoons.”
“The findings come from 1,800-year record of the Asian monsoon preserved in a stalagmite from a Chinese cave.”
“The top of the stalagmite was a bulbous shape that extended out from the curve.”
“Surrounding the stalagmite was a large number of artifacts, including sherds of high-quality Hellenistic Greek and Illyrian pottery.”
“And that, in some cases at least, this cave residence ended a very long time ago, we are assured, for since then a great thickness of stalagmite, which is deposited with extreme slowness, has spread over the lower cave deposits and sealed them in.”
“The piety commended is, in either case, a kind of stalagmite piety, built up from below, with the disadvantage of no drippings from above; a really cavernous formation, upon which the’ true light of day never shone.”
“Sajjad Hussain/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Devotees flock to the holy cave to pay homage to an ice stalagmite associated with the Hindu God Shiva.”
“Still, the Union Square staple serves up decent inexpensive food, and we had just arrived in time to see disgruntled chess players, skaters skipping class at NYU and that woman who practically lives in the park selling stalagmite candle holders scatter to the pounding rhythm of the sudden monsoon.”
The Huffington Post: Derek Beres: The Unlikely Making of a Yoga Dude
“Caves of Aven ArmandThree years on, our granddaughter now 11 has not forgotten her visit to this spectacular cave, home to the world's largest known stalagmite which, throughout its 30 metres, sparkles like a diamond.”
“Tours lead visitors through a multitude of grandiose conference rooms including the newly restored "Room XX" by Miquel Barceló, complete with a multi-colored, stalagmite sculpture-covered ceiling.”
The Huffington Post: Michael Yarbrough: A Student's Guide to Backpacking: Switzerland
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘stalagmite’.
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G[r]eek
A collection of words found in English that are either purely Greek or have Greek etymology.
Please add with caution and certainty. Will be regularly updated by me.etymology, philosophy, laconic, disharmony, patriarchic, archaic, phlogiston, aether, aeon, angel, arachnid, rhythm and 346 more...
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maygra
apropos, advantageous, perception, discombobulated, adumbrate, apogee, perihelion, mortmain, solitudinous, mediastinus, asumbrative, traveler and 498 more...
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Just 'cause I like 'em, S
scrunch, solace, sabotage, saccade, sacerdotal, sacrilegious, sacristy, snappy, skew, steadfast, scowl, scorch and 781 more...
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Words Covered in Faery Dust (S)
words that evoke magic, mystery, mayhem, magnificence or anything else that glimmers in the grass
sabian symbols, saffron, sagacious, sage, salamander, sally lunn, salmon, salsify, salt water taffy, samhain, sand dollar, sandalwood and 270 more...
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tranquill's Words
loquacious, unmitigated, trundle, ephemeral, vociferous, trapezoidal, liminal, obsequious, veracity, squash, onomatopoeia, oscillate and 267 more...
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pixistix's Words
cumquat, circumlocution, panoply, propinquity, contumely, quietus, fardel, tmesis, tipsy, giddy, trudge, vortex and 211 more...
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TheLastGoodNameLeft
The Last Good Words Left
ephemera, gammon, errata, ellipses, octopi, heteronormative, polyp, intersectionality, theses, california, halfback, fullback and 555 more...
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judith's word inbox
collocated, carnaval, articulate, reticulated, cilia, sardonic, aesthetics, tenacity, tensile, jubilant, ebullient, ethereal and 206 more...
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fliti's Words
panache, mushaboom, aubergine, serpentine, glimpse, schadenfreude, syzygy, plethora, zeitgeist, defenestrate, callipygian, ubiquitous and 239 more...
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another yet
anneal, copepod, cuckoo, fathead, intone, patter, cabriole, knickknack, boodle, kit, estrange, forebode and 209 more...
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Yosemite Samite
adamite, annamite, benjamite, ephraimite, grahamite, hieronymite, willemite, thomite, citrus red mite, cheese mite, dust mite, follicle mite and 21 more...
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Davidov06's Words
leid, supervene, bouleversement, precipice, stalagtite, stalagmite, exist, co-exist, coil, pill, rectum, antelope and 61 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for stalagmite.
reesetee Wow! That one must have taken some thinking! ;-) Jul 13, 2007
oroboros I always thought this was about wee beasties in German POW camps during WWII (or, perhaps the "I know nossing!!!" Stalag 13 crew on TV). :oP Jul 13, 2007
slumry up Jul 13, 2007