Standard Lemma guide

tufa

noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • /ˈt(j)uːfə/
  • CMU ARPABET: T UW1 F AH0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Calcareous lime deposited by precipitation from a body of water, such as a hot spring.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A variety of volcanic rock, tuff.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: geography, geology, natural-sciences

Examples

  • 1825, "Oliver Oldschool" (Joseph Dennie), John Elihu Hall (editors), The Port Folio, page 426, This again is followed by a bed of stony tufa of a reddish colour, containing fragments of a spongy lava, amphigone, pyroxene, mica, and common lava; and, like the former, traversed by argillaceous veins.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: tuff

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

hard volcanic rock composed of compacted volcanic ash

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: tuff

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: volcanic rock

4

noun

Meaning 4

a soft porous rock consisting of calcium carbonate deposited from springs rich in lime

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: calc-tufa

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: rock, stone

History

Etymology

From Italian tufo, from Latin tōfus or tōphus. Doublet of tuff.

Across languages

Translations

10 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 石灰華 /石灰华 (shíhuīhuá) — calcareous deposit of lime found near hot springs
  • Chinese Mandarin: 鈣華 /钙华 (gàihuá) — calcareous deposit of lime found near hot springs
  • Czech: pěnovec — calcareous deposit of lime found near hot springs
  • Dutch: kalktuf — calcareous deposit of lime found near hot springs
  • Finnish: lähdekalkki — calcareous deposit of lime found near hot springs
  • French: tuffeau — calcareous deposit of lime found near hot springs
  • German: Kalktuff — calcareous deposit of lime found near hot springs
  • Latin: tōfus — calcareous deposit of lime found near hot springs
  • Russian: туф (tuf) — calcareous deposit of lime found near hot springs
  • Spanish: toba (calcárea) — calcareous deposit of lime found near hot springs