tufa

[ too-fuh, tyoo- ]

/ ˈtu fə, ˈtyu- /

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noun Geology.

Also called calcareous tufa, calc-tufa, calc-tuff. a porous limestone formed from calcium carbonate deposited by springs or the like.Compare travertine.

(not in technical use) tuff2.

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Origin of tufa

1760–70; <Italian tufo<Latin tōfus

OTHER WORDS FROM tufa

tu·fa·ceous

[too-fey-shuhs, tyoo-], /tuˈfeɪ ʃəs, tyu-/, adjective

Words nearby tufa

tuebor, Tues., Tuesday, Tuesdays, TUF, tufa, tuff, tuffet, tuft, tufted, tufted deer

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tufa in a sentence

In these Etruscan travel essays, pages and pages of descriptions and interpretations are devoted to what he finds inside the tombs, including porches, columns, household items made out of stone and tufa beds.
A case for D.H. Lawrence as a father of modern travel writing|Walter Nicklin|September 2, 2021|Washington Post
These are chambers excavated in the tufa on either side of the galleries, with which they communicate by doors, as seen in Fig. 4.
The Catacombs of Rome|William Henry Withrow
For the same reason the different piani were generally separated by a thick stratum of solid tufa.
The Catacombs of Rome|William Henry Withrow
At B will be observed the employment of masonry to strengthen the crumbling walls of the friable tufa.
The Catacombs of Rome|William Henry Withrow

The tufa granolare, on the contrary, was admirably adapted for the construction of these subterranean cemeteries.
The Catacombs of Rome|William Henry Withrow
The most ancient and lowest stratum of this igneous formation is a compact conglomerate known as tufa lithoide.
The Catacombs of Rome|William Henry Withrow

British Dictionary definitions for tufa

tufa

/ (ˈtjuːfə) /

noun

a soft porous rock consisting of calcium carbonate deposited from springs rich in limeAlso called: calc-tufa

Derived forms of tufa

tufaceous (tjuːˈfeɪʃəs), adjective

Word Origin for tufa

C18: from Italian tufo, from Late Latin tōfus

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 tufa

tufa

[ tōō′fə ]

A soft, friable, and porous sedimentary rock consisting of calcium carbonate and formed by the evaporation of water, especially at the mouth of a hot spring or on a drying lakebed. It is similar to, but harder than, travertine.