Stalactite

ahd-5
  • noun. An icicle-shaped mineral deposit, usually calcite or aragonite, hanging from the roof of a cavern, formed from the dripping of mineral-rich water.
  • The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
  • noun. In decorative architecture of certain schools, a pendent ornament with sharp edges and generally one of many in a group.
  • noun. A deposit of carbonate of lime, usually resembling in form a huge icicle, which hangs from the roof of a cave or subterranean rock-opening, where it has been slowly formed by deposition from calcareous water trickling downward through cracks or openings in the rocks above.
  • noun. A similar form of some other mineral species, such as are occasionally observed, for example, of chalcedony, limonite, etc., but only sparingly and on a small scale.
  • noun. A like form of lava sometimes observed in connection with volcanic outflows.
  • the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
  • noun. A pendent cone or cylinder of calcium carbonate resembling an icicle in form and mode of attachment. Stalactites are found depending from the roof or sides of caverns, and are produced by deposition from waters which have percolated through, and partially dissolved, the overlying limestone rocks.
  • noun. In an extended sense, any mineral or rock of similar form and origin.
  • Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
  • noun. A mineral deposit of calcium carbonate, in shapes similar to icicles, that hangs from the roof of a cave.
  • WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
  • noun. a cylinder of calcium carbonate hanging from the roof of a limestone cave