monolithicadj.
/ˌmɒnəˈlɪθɪk/, U.S. /ˌmɑnəˈlɪθɪk/ 1.
a. Formed of a single (large) block of stone; of the nature of a monolith.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > stone or rock > [adjective] > made of stone > of single stone
monolithic1825
monolithal1830
monolith1832
1825 T. D. Fosbroke Encycl. Antiq. I. ii. 12 These sanctuaries often consisted of a single excavated block. They are called Monolithic temples.
1849 E. A. Freeman Hist. Archit. 101 The Greek column, which, in idea at least, is so essentially monolithic.
1876 J. Fergusson Hist. Indian & Eastern Archit. iv. ii. 338 There is no doubt that their monolithic character is the principal source of the awe and wonder with which they have been regarded.
1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 782/1 He [sc. Amasis II] adorned the temples of Lower Egypt especially with splendid monolithic shrines and other monuments.
1995 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 16 Feb. 25/1 The gray macigno of the monolithic columns and details inside the Laurentian Library.
b. Of, relating to, or characterized by monoliths. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > record > memorial or monument > [adjective] > stone
monolithic1851
1851 D. Wilson Archæol. & Prehistoric Ann. Scotl. i. v. 100 The remarkable monolithic group called The Stones of Stennis.
1851 D. Wilson Archæol. & Prehistoric Ann. Scotl. i. v. 103 What may be styled the monolithic era of art.
1886 T. Hardy Mayor of Casterbridge II. x. 126 Forty [cups]..forming a ring round the margin of the great sixteen-legged oak table, like the monolithic circle at Stonehenge in its pristine days.
2. Civil Engineering. Of concrete: forming a solid unbroken mass. Also: (of a style of construction) using such a mass.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > concrete > [adjective] > (made of) types of concrete
lean1726
monolithic1874
granolithic1881
ferro-concrete1901
vibrated1930
prestressed1936
no-fines1946
post-stretched1946
post-tensioned1950
slipformed1968
1874 Minutes Proc. Inst. Civil Engineers 1873–4 37 i. 378 Mr. R. Gervase Elwes..recommended that the foundations, piers, abutments, and wing-walls of the works of art should be constructed of ‘monolithic’ concrete in situ.
1881 F. Young Every Man his own Mechanic §1232 It is intended to build the walls in ‘monolithic’ concrete, that is to say, a wall composed of concrete built up piece-meal which hardens into a solid unbroken mass.
1898 Engin. Mag. 16 131/1 A Large Monolithic Concrete Building.
1909 Chem. Abstr. 3 1210 Description of a hollow glass brick. In use the brick is laid up in the usual way and the inside filled with concrete, forming a monolithic concrete wall with a glass surface.
1983 J. S. Foster Struct. & Fabric (rev. ed.) I. iii. 71/1 A stiff rigid building, one with plain monolithic concrete walls for example.
1992 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 13 Feb. 14/2 Modern layered construction, as opposed to traditional monolithic construction, gives the designer greater freedom.
2006 Dwell May 212/2 The monolithic concrete soaking tub and floor were formed in one pour.
3. In extended use. Resembling a monolith; massive, immovable; homogeneous, characterless (esp. applied to a building). Also, of an organization, party, government, etc.: large, powerful or monopolistic; intractably indivisible and uniform.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > [adjective] > united into a whole > without pieces or parts
piecelessa1631
one-piece1880
monolithica1902
a1902 F. Norris Pit (1903) i. 41 The pile of the Board of Trade Building, black, grave, monolithic, crouching on its foundations, like a monstrous sphinx with blind eyes.
1922 D. H. Lawrence England my England 87 Maurice had a curious monolithic way of sitting in a chair, erect and distant.
1937 Nation (N.Y.) 10 July 32/1 The monolithic corporation talks loudly to the workers.
1945 A. L. Rowse West-Country Stories 26 The Fourth Symphony of Sibelius, the most monolithic of them all.
1971 Nature 7 May 2/2 But would not the merging of the research councils create too monolithic a central sponsor?
1992 A. Taylor Raven on Water (BNC) 99 She worked for the British Council in the monolithic Spring Gardens building between the Mall and Trafalgar Square.
2004 Archit. Detail 2003 16/2 The monolithic outward appearance of a concrete building often results in internal complexity.
4. Electronics. Of a solid-state circuit: composed of active and passive components formed in a single chip (or thin film: see quot. 1967).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic phenomena > electronic circuit > [adjective]
coupledc1440
inductive-coupled1913
closed circuit1941
printed1946
bistable1949
astable1951
busy-idle1951
monolithic1963
optocoupled1976
1963 E. Keonjian Microelectronics i. 8 (heading) Monolithic circuits.
1963 E. Keonjian Microelectronics i. 9 A monolithic piece of material is treated in such a way as to possess an electronic circuit function.
1967 Encycl. Dict. Physics Suppl. II. 173/1 Monolithic circuit, an integrated circuit which uses either thin film or silicon chip techniques for both active and passive devices but not a mixture of these techniques... The term is more usually applied to silicon chip construction, where it implies, in particular, that any circuit capacitors do not use evaporated dielectrics.
1970 F. C. Fitchen et al. Electronic Integrated Circuits i. 4 The monolithic integrated circuit is an IC whose [circuit] elements are formed in situ upon or within a semiconductor substrate with at least one of the elements formed within the substrate.
1986 Defense Update Internat. June–July 24/3 One very exciting technology involves monolithic integrated circuits that will combine electrical, optical, analog and digital capabilities with signal processors and micro-mechanical devices on single chips.
1992 RS Components: Electronic & Electr. Products July 841/2 An RGB D/A video convertor on a single monolithic chip.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
adj.1825