Monadnock

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /məˈnædˌnɒk/

Definitions

1. A steep, isolated elevation that stands out from the surrounding flat land due to the erosion of softer materials surrounding it
2. An elevated landform that remains prominent above its surroundings as a result of the erosion of less resistant rock layers
3. A solitary hill or mountain that rises abruptly from a relatively level area, formed by the erosion of surrounding softer rock layers

Etymology: Geologists use "monadnock" for the lone hill that survives long after everything around it has worn away, and the term is named after a real mountain. Mount Monadnock rises steeply from the landscape of southwestern New Hampshire, and its name comes from an Abenaki word, possibly "menonadenak" or "menonadenek," meaning "smooth mountain," or "menadenak" or "menadenek," meaning "isolated mountain," built on "aden," meaning "mountain." The English-speaking settlers who adopted the name applied it to the mountain itself, and the geological sense developed later from that proper noun. The word therefore began as a place name rather than a scientific coinage. Its later use depends on the same picture the mountain presents: a hard core of rock standing above softer layers that erosion has carried away over long spans of time. Geologists borrowed the name to label that kind of landform wherever it occurs, so a hill in another country can be called a monadnock because its shape matches the one that gave the word its meaning.