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calcification

[ kal-suh-fi-key-shuhn ]
/ ˌkæl sə fɪˈkeɪ ʃən /
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See synonyms for calcification on Thesaurus.com
noun
a changing into lime.
Physiology. the deposition of lime or insoluble salts of calcium and magnesium, as in a tissue.
Anatomy, Geology. a calcified formation.
a soil process in which the surface soil is supplied with calcium in such a way that the soil colloids are always close to saturation.
a hardening or solidifying; rigidity: As the conflict developed, there was an increasing calcification of attitudes on both sides.
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Origin of calcification

First recorded in 1840–50; calcific + -ation

Words nearby calcification

calcic, calcicole, calciferol, calciferous, calcific, calcification, calcifuge, calcify, calcimine, calcination, calcine
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to calcification

coagulation, concretion, crystallization, fossilization, freezing, ossification, petrification, setting, solidifying, stiffening, casehardening

How to use calcification in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for calcification

calcification
/ (ˌkælsɪfɪˈkeɪʃən) /
noun
the process of calcifying or becoming calcified
pathol a tissue hardened by deposition of lime salts
any calcified object or formation
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for calcification

calcification
[ kăl′sə-fĭ-kā′shən ]
Medicine
  1. The accumulation of calcium or calcium salts in a body tissue. Calcification normally occurs in the formation of bone, but can be deposited abnormally, as in the lungs.
  2. A structure that has undergone calcification.
Geology
  1. The replacement of organic material, especially original hard material such as bone, with calcium carbonate during the process of fossilization.
  2. The accumulation of calcium in certain soils, especially soils of cool temperate regions where leaching takes place very slowly.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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