monolith means an unincorporated community in Kern County, California, United States.
monolith is pronounced /ˈmɒn.ə.lɪθ/.
Why “monolith” is a great word
A large, single block of stone, especially one shaped into a monument, or by extension, anything massive, uniform, and seemingly immovable. From the Ancient Greek μονο- (mono-, "single, alone") + λίθος (líthos, "stone"), borrowed into English via French monolithe and Latin monolithus from Greek monólithos ("made from a single block of stone"). Unlike an obelisk, which is a defined, tapering form, or a conglomerate, which celebrates its assembled, gritty variety, a monolith is defined by its unbroken, often intimidating, singularity. It is the standing stone on the Salisbury Plain at dawn; the sealed granite façade of a bank headquarters at night, windows dark as dead eyes; the silent, collective will of a system that admits no exception. It is the aesthetic of pure, unanswerable mass, a presence so complete it admits no entry, only awe.
Etymology
The noun is borrowed from French monolithe (“object made from a single block of stone”), from Middle French monolythe (“made from a single block of stone”) (rare), and from their etymon Latin monolithus (“made from a single block of stone”), from Ancient Greek μονόλιθος (monólithos, “made from a single block of stone”), from μονο- (mono-, prefix meaning ‘alone; single’) (from μόνος (mónos, “alone; only, unique”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mey- (“little, small”)) + λίθος (líthos, “a stone; stone as a substance”); analysable as mono- + -lith. The English word is cognate with German monolith (“made from a single block of stone”).
The verb is derived from the noun.
name
- An unincorporated community in Kern County, California, United States.
noun
- 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.”
- 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.”
- 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 network of channels, most with sizes ranging from 1 to 5 µm. The adsorptive surface is directly access”
- 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 owners should be encouraged to be untidy-minded and to leave monoliths or fallen dead wood in situ.”
verb
- To create (something) as, or convert (one or more things) into, a monolith.“[Fatema] Mernissi constructs a single dominant view of sexuality among Muslims while she purports to be doing sociology or anthropology. [...] [I]s it Mernissi's contention that only Islam is monolithed in stone by an overarching patriarchy?”
- To create (something) as, or convert (one or more things) into, a monolith.; To cast (one or more concrete components) in a single piece with no joints.“It should be noted that the parapets, also monolithing with the decking slab, contribute an important share to the effective resistance of the work.”
- To create (something) as, or convert (one or more things) into, a monolith.; To reduce the height and size of (a dead tree) by breaking off or cutting its branches.“Residents who use the park regularly for sports say they are gobsmacked that the council consider cutting the tree down as the only option. But the council have said that public safety is paramount when assessing damaged trees, a branch crashing down could kill someone, and that the tree is not being cut down but just monolithed.”
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- obelisk 86% match — A tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point, frequently used as a monument. vs monolith →
- trilithon 84% match — A structure consisting of two stone pillars supporting a horizontal stone. vs monolith →
- moniment 83% match — Something to preserve memory; a reminder or a monument. vs monolith →
- guidestone 83% match — A traditional stone marker providing directions for travellers. vs monolith →
- sarcophagus 83% match — A stonen coffin, often with its exterior inscribed, or decorated with sculpture. vs monolith →
- headstone 83% match — A gravestone, a grave marker: a monument traditionally made of stone placed at the head of a grave. vs monolith →
- cairn 82% match — A rounded or conical heap of stones erected by early inhabitants of the British Isles, apparently as a sepulchral monument. vs monolith →
- landmark 82% match — An object that marks the boundary of a piece of land (usually a stone, or a tree). vs monolith →