stalagmite

[ stuh-lag-mahyt, stal-uh g-mahyt ]

/ stəˈlæg maɪt, ˈstæl əgˌmaɪt /

noun

a deposit, usually of calcium carbonate, more or less resembling an inverted stalactite, formed on the floor of a cave or the like by the dripping of percolating calcareous water.

Nearby words

stalactiform, stalactite, stalactite work, stalactites, stalag, stalagmite, stalagmites, stalagmometer, stale, stale bull, stalemate

Origin of stalagmite

1675–85; < New Latin stalagmites < Greek stálagm(a) a drop (stalag-, stem of stalássein to drip + -ma noun suffix of result) + New Latin -ites -ite¹

Related formsstal·ag·mit·ic

[stal-uh g-mit-ik] /ˌstæl əgˈmɪt ɪk/, stal·ag·mit·i·cal, adjectivestal·ag·mit·i·cal·ly, adverb

Can be confusedstalactite stalagmite

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

Examples from the Web for stalagmite

Stalagmite , a deposit (on the floor of caves) resembling an inverted stalactite.
Unexplored!|Allen Chaffee
Stalagmite with a few bones and antlers of reindeer, the thickness varying from one to fifteen inches.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3|Various
Four of its chambers have ice, in one of which a stalagmite of ice rises almost to the roof.
Ice-Caves of France and Switzerland|George Forrest Browne
At a signal from Long Shadow, one of the Tibetans reached behind a stalagmite and pulled a lever.
The Caves of Fear|John Blaine

The accumulation of sediment or of stalagmite over human remains in caverns is not necessarily indicative of very great antiquity.
The Chain of Life in Geological Time|Sir J. William Dawson

British Dictionary definitions for stalagmite

stalagmite

/ (ˈstæləɡˌmaɪt) /

noun

a cylindrical mass of calcium carbonate projecting upwards from the floor of a limestone cave: formed by precipitation from continually dripping waterCompare stalactite

Derived Formsstalagmitic (ˌstæləɡˈmɪtɪk) or stalagmitical, adjective

Word Origin for stalagmite

C17: from New Latin stalagmites, from Greek stalagmos dripping; related to Greek stalassein to drip; compare stalactite

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

Word Origin and History for stalagmite

stalagmite

1680s, from Modern Latin stalagmites (Olaus Wormius), from Greek stalagmos "a dropping," or stalagma "a drop, drip," from stalassein "to trickle" (see stalactite).

Science definitions for stalagmite

stalagmite

[ stə-lăg′mīt′ ]

A cylindrical or conical mineral deposit, similar to a stalactite but built up from the floor of a cave or cavern. Stalagmites are typically broader than stalactites. The two formations are often, but not always, paired, and they sometimes join at a midpoint to form a pillar. Compare stalactite.