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Webster 1913 Edition


Monolith

Mon′o-lith

,
Noun.
[F.
monolithe
, L.
monolithus
consisting of a single stone, Gr. [GREEK];
μόνοσ
single +
λίθοσ
stone.]
A single stone, especially one of large size, shaped into a pillar, statue, or monument.

Definition 2024


monolith

monolith

English

Noun

monolith (plural monoliths)

  1. A large single block of stone, used in architecture and sculpture.
    • 2012 January 1, Henry Petroski, “The Washington Monument”, in 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.

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