stalactiform


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sta·lac·tite

(stə-lăk′tīt′, stăl′ək-)
n.
An icicle-shaped mineral deposit, usually calcite or aragonite, hanging from the roof of a cavern, formed from the dripping of mineral-rich water.
[New Latin stalactītēs, from Greek stalaktos, dripping, from stalassein, stalak-, to drip.]
sta·lac′ti·form′ adj.
stal′ac·tit′ic (stăl′ăk-tĭt′ĭk, stə-lăk′-) adj.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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References in periodicals archive ?
On some specimens, quartz epimorphs after anhydrite form attractive finger-shaped aggregates 3 to 6 cm long (one stalactiform specimen is almost 20 cm long).
Springfield show 2010
Excellent stalactiform specimens (to over 5 cm long) were also found in the 19th century.
Caldbeck Fells
Hemant Merchant of Mineral Decor in India (mindec10@hotmail.com) came to Houston with about 20 pretty cabinet-size specimens of stalactiform chalcedony found in late February of this year in a basalt quarry near Jamner, Maharashtra, India.
Houston Show 2009

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