Meanings
plural speleothems
- geographyAny secondary mineral, deposited in a natural cave by the action of water. Includes formations such as stalactites, stalagmites, flowstones, and helictites.
But it is possible that the painting itself might be thousands of years older because the technique only assesses the age of a mineral deposit, speleothem, that formed on the cave walls.
2021 January 13, Becky Ferreira, “Pig Painting May Be World’s Oldest Cave Art Yet, Archaeologists Say”, in The New York Times, →ISSNSynonyms: cave formation
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAny secondary mineral, deposited in a natural cave by the action of water. Includes formations such as stalactites, stalagmites, flowstones, and helictites.
Origin
- Ancient Greekσπήλαιον“cave”
- Englishspeleothem
From Ancient Greek σπήλαιον (spḗlaion, “cave”) + θέμα (théma, “what is laid down”).
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 洞穴沉積物 /洞穴沉积物
- 洞穴沉積物 /洞穴沉积物 (dòngxué chénjīwù)secondary mineral, deposited in a cave by the action of water
Czech speleotém
- speleotémsecondary mineral, deposited in a cave by the action of water
Finnish tippukivi
- tippukivisecondary mineral, deposited in a cave by the action of water
French spéléothème
- spéléothèmesecondary mineral, deposited in a cave by the action of water
German Speläothem
- Speläothemsecondary mineral, deposited in a cave by the action of water
Italian speleotema
- speleotemasecondary mineral, deposited in a cave by the action of water
Japanese 二次生成物
- 二次生成物 (nijiseiseibutsu)secondary mineral, deposited in a cave by the action of water
Korean 스펠레오뎀
- 스펠레오뎀 (seupelle'odem)secondary mineral, deposited in a cave by the action of water
Portuguese espeleotema
- espeleotemasecondary mineral, deposited in a cave by the action of water
Spanish espeleotema
- espeleotemasecondary mineral, deposited in a cave by the action of water
Cite this entry
speleothem. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/speleothem
“speleothem.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/speleothem. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “speleothem,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/speleothem.
Source: speleothem on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.