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trav·er·tine

(trăvər-tēn′, -tĭn)

1. A light-colored porous calcite, CaCO₃, deposited from solution in ground or surface waters and forming, among other deposits, stalactites and stalagmites.

2. A compact calcium carbonate used as a facing material in construction.

[French, from Italian travertino, alteration of tivertino, from Latin (lapis) tīburtīnus, (stone) of Tibur (Tivoli), an ancient city of central Italy.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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