stalactite
noun
a deposit, usually of calcium carbonate, shaped like an icicle, hanging from the roof of a cave or the like, and formed by the dripping of percolating calcareous water.
stalactitical
-
a word derived from
stalactite.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
At Ascension, near a cavity in the rocks which was filled with a laminated mass of infiltrated birds' dung, I found some irregularly formed, stalactitical masses of apparently the same nature.
From Volcanic Islands by Charles Darwin
Several stalactitical caverns are also seen, and prehistoric British and Roman relics discovered in and near them are preserved in a small museum.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 1 "Châtelet" to "Chicago" by Various
The two caverns most frequently visited are called respectively Cox’s and Gough’s; in each, but especially in the first, there is a remarkable collection of fantastic and beautiful stalactitical forms.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 1 "Châtelet" to "Chicago" by Various
