dripstone

[drip-stohn]

noun

Architecture. a stone molding used as a drip.

calcium carbonate occurring in the form of stalactites and stalagmites.

Origin of dripstone

First recorded in 1785–95; drip + stone

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for dripstone

Historical Examples of dripstone

On three sides of the tower the dripstone is almost perfect.
Bell's Cathedrals: The Abbey Church of Tewkesbury
H. J. L. J. Mass
But you will be as doleful as a dripstone if you marry for money.
Father Goriot
Honore de Balzac
In the above-mentioned wall is an Early English doorway, with a dripstone adorned with the nailhead moulding.
Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Ripon
Cecil Walter Charles Hallett
Those that flank the portal have each a large niche at the bottom, with engaged shafts, and the head and dripstone trefoiled.
Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Ripon
Cecil Walter Charles Hallett
The dripstone sections of their capitals are therefore unnecessary and ridiculous.
The Stones of Venice, Volume I (of 3)
John Ruskin

British Dictionary definitions for dripstone

dripstone

noun

the form of calcium carbonate existing in stalactites or stalagmites

Also called: label, hood mould architect a drip made of stone

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