travertine

American  

[trav-er-teen, -tin] / ˈtræv ərˌtin, -tɪn /

Also travertin

noun

1. a form of limestone deposited by springs, especially hot springs, used in Italy for building.

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travertine British  

/ ˈtrævətɪn /

noun

1. Also called: calc-sinter.  a porous rock consisting of calcium carbonate, used for building

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travertine Scientific  

/ trăv′ər-tēn′,-tĭn /

1. A white, tan, or cream-colored form of limestone, often having a fibrous or concentric appearance. Travertine is formed through the rapid precipitation of calcium carbonate, especially at the mouth of a hot spring or in limestone caves, where it forms stalactites and stalagmites. It is similar to but harder than tufa.

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Etymology

Origin of travertine

1545–55; < Italian travertino, equivalent to tra- across (< Latin trāns- trans- ) + ( ti ) vertino < Latin Tīburtīnus, equivalent to Tīburt- (stem of Tīburs ) the territory of Tibur ( Tivoli ) + -īnus -ine ¹

Compare meaning

How does travertine compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• limestone vs. travertine

Example Sentences

But greater impact, we see, was made by the German pavilion designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich using Roman travertine, green marble, onyx and glass, ushering in architecture’s International Style.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 14, 2026

Instead, the weird collective intimacy of padding across the travertine floor for a body scan became synonymous with the hassles of 21st-century air travel.

From Slate • Jul. 10, 2025

The travertine used to build it was mined from the same quarry outside of Rome that supplied stone for the Colosseum, New York City’s Lincoln Center and the Getty Museum.

From Los Angeles Times • May 2, 2024

For her tender and clever wall sculptures, she employs traditional stone-carving techniques to sculpt odd and bulbous shapes out of marble, travertine, brucite and limestone.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 25, 2023

Like the stadium, most were being clad with natural stone, all of it German—more limestone from Franconia, basalt from the Eifel hills, granite and marble from Silesia, travertine from Thuringia, porphyry from Saxony.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown