monoliths

Noun

monolith (plural monoliths)

1. (also, attributive) A large, single block of stone which is a natural feature; or a block of stone or other similar material used in architecture and sculpture, especially one carved into a monument in ancient times.
   • Tomb of Napoleon I. [...] Twelve colossal statues, by [James] Pradier, representing as many victories, stand against the pilasters, facing the tomb, consisting of an immense monolith of porphyry, weighing 135,000 lbs., and brought from Lake Onega in Finland at a cost of 140,000fr.1856, “Tenth Arrondissement. Western Portion.”, in Galignani’s New Paris Guide, for 1856. […], Paris: A[nthony] and W[illiam] Galignani & Co. […], →OCLC, page 355

   Antonyms:

   polylith

2. (also, attributive, figuratively) Anything massive, uniform, and unmovable, especially a towering and impersonal cultural, political, or social organization or structure.
   • It was the setting up of generalizations of the first kind in [Charles J.] Fillmore (1966a, b) and (1968a) that awarded case grammar the role of being, besides abstract syntax, the second crack in the transformational monolith of the late sixties.1980, Hans-Ulrich Boas, “Some Remarks on Case Grammars as Bases for Contrastive Studies”, in Jacek Fisiak, editor, Theoretical Issues in Contrastive Linguistics (Amsterdam Studies in the Theory and...

   Antonyms:

   chimera

3. A substrate having many tiny channels that is cast as a single piece, which is used as a stationary phase for chromatography, as a catalytic surface, etc.
   • The conference chairman, Alois Jungbauer, Ph.D., professor at the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences in Vienna, defined a monolith as a continuous stationary-phase cast as a homogeneous column in a single piece. Monoliths are further characterized by a highly interconnected...2008 August 1, Pete Gagnon, “Monoliths Emerge as Key Purification Methodology”, in Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, volume 28, number 14, Mary Ann Liebert, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the...
4. (UK) A dead tree whose height and size have been reduced by breaking off or cutting its branches.
   • [page 98] If a stub is to be retained, either for the reasons stated above, or when a tree is to be reduced to a "monolith" [...], unconventional methods of cutting or fracturing (not recommended in BS 3998) may be employed, [...] [page 147] Even dead standing or fallen trees are important, and so...2013 February, “Tree Work: Assessment of Requirements” and “Ancient Trees in the Landscape: Advocacy for Holistic and Landscape-scale Management”, in David Lonsdale, editor, Ancient and Other Veteran...

See all 8 meanings of monolith