Meanings
plural stalagmites
- geographyA secondary mineral deposit of calcium carbonate or other mineral, in shapes similar to icicles, that lies on the ground of a cave.
In one place, near at hand, a stalagmite had been slowly growing up from the ground for ages, builded by the water-drip from a stalactite overhead.
1876, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], chapter XXXIII, in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Hartford, Conn.: The American Publishing Company, →OCLC1 more example
Molten roofing north, lead dripping down south, stand like those immobilized columns of arctic water west, stalagmites, monked and housed or stamped and dudleyed east, in school texts.
1981, Kalu Uka, A Consummation of Fire: A Novel, page 9
Origin
- Ancient Greekσταλάσσω (stalássō)
- Ancient Greekστάλαγμα (stálagma)
- Ancient Greekσταλάσσω (stalássō)
- Ancient Greekσταλαγμός (stalagmós)
- New Latinstalagmītēs
- Englishstalagmite
From New Latin stalagmītēs, from Ancient Greek στάλαγμα (stálagma, “drop”) or σταλαγμός (stalagmós, “dripping”).
More words from New Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan estalagmita
- estalagmitamineral deposit
Chinese Mandarin 石筍 /石笋
- 石筍 /石笋 (shísǔn)mineral deposit
Czech stalagmit
- stalagmitmineral deposit
Dutch druipsteenkegel, druipsteen
- druipsteenkegelmineral deposit
- druipsteenmineral deposit
Esperanto stalagmito
- stalagmitomineral deposit
Finnish tippukivipylväs, stalagmiitti
- tippukivipylväsmineral deposit
- stalagmiittimineral deposit
French stalagmite
- stalagmitemineral deposit
German Stalagmit
- Stalagmitmineral deposit
Greek σταλαγμίτης
- σταλαγμίτης (stalagmítis)mineral deposit
Hebrew זקיף
- זקיף (zakíf)mineral deposit
Hungarian sztalagmit
- sztalagmitmineral deposit
Icelandic dropasteinskerti
- dropasteinskertimineral deposit
Irish aolchoinneal
- aolchoinnealmineral deposit
Japanese 石筍
- 石筍 (sekijun)mineral deposit
Korean 석순
- 석순 (seoksun)mineral deposit
Māori keotū
- keotūmineral deposit
Persian استالاگمیت, کلفخشنگ
- استالاگمیت (estâlâgmit)mineral deposit
- کلفخشنگ (kalafaxšang)mineral deposit
Polish stalagmit
- stalagmitmineral deposit
Portuguese estalagmite
- estalagmitemineral deposit
Russian сталагми́т
- сталагми́т (stalagmít)mineral deposit
Slovak stalagmit
- stalagmitmineral deposit
Spanish estalagmita
- estalagmitamineral deposit
Swedish stalagmit
- stalagmitmineral deposit
Tagalog estalagmita
- estalagmitamineral deposit
Thai หินงอก
- หินงอก (hǐn-ngɔ̂ɔk)mineral deposit
Turkish dikit
- dikitmineral deposit
Ukrainian сталагмі́т
- сталагмі́т (stalahmít)mineral deposit
Vietnamese măng đá
- măng đámineral deposit
Cite this entry
stalagmite. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stalagmite
“stalagmite.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stalagmite. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “stalagmite,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stalagmite.
Source: stalagmite on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.