stalactiteyoudaoicibaDictYouDict[stalactite 词源字典]
stalactite: [17] A stalactite is etymologically something that ‘drips’. The word was coined in modern Latin as stalactītēs, based on Greek stalaktós ‘dripping’, a derivative of the verb stalássein ‘drip’. Also derived from stalássein was stalagmós ‘dropping’, which formed the basis of stalagmite [17].
[stalactite etymology, stalactite origin, 英语词源]
stalactite (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
"hanging formation of carbonite of lime from the roof of a cave," 1670s, Englished from Modern Latin stalactites (used 1654 by Olaus Wormius), from Greek stalaktos "dripping, oozing out in drops," from stalassein "to trickle," from PIE root *stag- "to seep, drip, drop" (cognates: German stallen, Lithuanian telziu "to urinate") + noun suffix -ite (1). Related: Stalactic; stalactitic.