monolith

Wikipedia

English

Wikipedia

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈmɒ.nə.lɪθ/
• (US) IPA: /ˈmɑ.nə.lɪθ/

Etymology

From French monolithe, from Latin monolithus "consisting of a single stone", from Ancient Greek μονόλιθος monolithos, from μόνος monos "single, alone" + λίθος lithos "stone".

Noun

monolith (plural monoliths)

1. A large single block of stone, used in architecture and sculpture.
   • 2012 January 1, Henry Petroski, “The Washington Monument”, American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, page 16: 

     The Washington Monument is often described as an obelisk, and sometimes even as a “true obelisk,” even though it is not. A true obelisk is a monolith, a pylon formed out of a single piece of stone.

2. Anything massive, uniform and unmovable.
3. (chemistry, chromatography) A continuous stationary-phase cast as a homogeneous column in a single piece.

Related terms

• monolithic adjective

Translations

block of stone

• Czech: monolit (cs) m
• Romanian: monolit (ro) n

• Russian: монолит (ru) (monolít) f
• Scottish Gaelic: (vertical) tursa (gd)

anything massive, uniform and unmovable

• Russian: монолит (ru) (monolít) f

continuous stationary-phase cast

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Dutch: monoliet m
• French: monolithe (fr) m
• Greek: μονόλιθος (el) (monóliθos) m

References

• (chemistry) Gagnon, Pete (1 August 2008). "Monoliths Emerge as Key Purification Methodology", Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, pg. 48. ISSN 1935-472X. Retrieved on 20 September 2008.