monticule

American  

[mon-ti-kyool] / ˈmɒn tɪˌkjul /

noun

1. a subordinate volcanic cone.

2. a small mountain, hill, or mound.

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monticule British  

/ ˈmɒntɪˌkjuːl /

noun

1. a small hill or mound, such as a secondary volcanic cone

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monticule Scientific  

/ mŏn′tĭ-kyo̅o̅l′ /

1. A minor cone of a volcano.

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Other Word Forms

• monticulate
  adjective
• monticulous
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of monticule

First recorded in 1790–1800; from Late Latin monticulus, equivalent to Latin monti- (stem of mōns “mountain”) + -culus diminutive noun suffix. See mount ², -cle ¹

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Explanation

Monticule is a fancy word for a small hill or mound. Mount Everest is definitely not a monticule, but that pile of snow left by a snowplow in the parking lot certainly qualifies! Monticule entered English around 1800 from the Latin monticulus, which combines monti-, "mountain," with the diminutive suffix -culus, "small." Originally, it described a small, secondary cone of a volcano. Today, it's often used more generally — or even humorously — to describe any minor elevation, even a bump: "The sudden collision with the open cupboard door caused a painful monticule to arise on her forehead."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

monticule

Isolated on a monticule by the river bank the chateau overlooked its brood of small pavilions, which in a way formed an entresol, or foyer, leading to the Pavilion Royal.

From Royal Palaces and Parks of France by Blanche McManus

The latter contents himself with telling us, that it is a very low hillock, un tres bas monticule.

From A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 15 Forming A Complete History Of The Origin And Progress Of Navigation, Discovery, And Commerce, By Sea And Land, From The Earliest Ages To The Present Time by Robert Kerr

You have read Dufrenoy in a hurry, I think, and added to the difficulty—it is the whole hill or "colline" which is composed of tuff with cross-stratification; the central boss or "monticule" is simply trachyte.

From More Letters of Charles Darwin — Volume 2 by Sir Francis Darwin

The latter is situated in front of Monte Fusara, and the entrance to it is evidently the crater of an extinct monticule.

From Etna A History of the Mountain and of its Eruptions by G. F. Rodwell

There is the ascent to Superbagnères, an easy monticule overshading Luchon, whose view is ranked with that from the Bergonz.

From A Midsummer Drive Through the Pyrenees by Edwin Asa Dix

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