tectonic

adjective

tec·​ton·​ic tek-ˈtä-nik How to pronounce tectonic (audio)
1
: of or relating to tectonics
2
: having a strong and widespread impact
a tectonic shift in voting patterns
tectonically adverb

Examples of tectonic in a Sentence

There has been a recent tectonic shift in voting patterns. a tectonic shift in societal trends occurred in the 1960s
Recent Examples on the Web More fundamentally, however, a tectonic shift is taking place, one that is forcing corporations to become actors on the geopolitical stage. Jami Miscik, Foreign Affairs, 11 Mar. 2024 With that album, Stapleton unexpectedly created a tectonic shift in contemporary country music, before going on to win 10 Grammys and enough other awards to fill a room. George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Mar. 2024 For local and international operators in the world’s most populous nation, the consequences of those tectonic shifts extend across streaming, pay-TV, channels, advertising, sports and content. Patrick Frater, Variety, 1 Mar. 2024 Conclusion In my opinion, the semiconductor industry is undergoing a tectonic shift, and the ripples of this transformation will be felt far and wide. Jorge Gonzalez Henrichsen, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2024 TikTokers could get used to longer videos if creators succeed with the format, though that would amount to a tectonic shift in the content that defines the platform. Thomas Germain / Gizmodo, Quartz, 6 Feb. 2024 However, Weber said, for a long-term human presence on the moon, the site selection process could indeed factor in geographic characteristics such as proximity to tectonic features and terrain. Cnn.com, The Mercury News, 1 Feb. 2024 Much of that history is gone because our active planet’s atmospheric, surface, and tectonic processes constantly modify much of the rock record. Alka Tripathy-Lang, Ars Technica, 26 Jan. 2024 But mantle rocks such as those excavated last spring could offer clues to the deep workings of Earth and help researchers better understand the tectonic choreography that’s fundamental to our world. Quanta Magazine, 4 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tectonic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

probably borrowed from German tektonisch "pertaining to broader structural features of the earth's crust," earlier "of building or construction," borrowed from Late Latin tectonicus "of a builder or architect," borrowed from Greek tektonikós "of a carpenter, skilled in carpentry or building," from tekton-, téktōn "woodworker, carpenter, craftsman" + -ikos -ic entry 1; téktōn going back to Indo-European *tetḱ-on- (whence also Sanskrit takṣan-, tákṣā "carpenter," Avestan tašan-, tašā "builder, creator"), n-stem derivative from a verbal base *tetḱ- "fashion, produce," whence Sanskrit tákṣati "(s/he) fashions, builds from wood," Avestan tāšt "(s/he) forms," Latvian tešu, tèst "to hew," Old Church Slavic tešǫ, tesati "to hew, fell," (with o-grade) Lithuanian tašýti "to hew"

Note: A root of the form *tetḱ- would be peculiar for Indo-European. Helmut Rix, et al., (Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2. Ausgabe, Wiesbaden, 2001) rescue the situation by hypothesizing that *tetḱ- represents a pre-Indo-European reduplicated aorist, *te-tḱ-, of a root *teḱ-, seen in unreduplicated form in Greek téknon "child, young of an animal" and étekon, tekeîn, aorist of tíktō, tíktein "to give birth to, beget, generate" (see dystocia). However—aside from the certain correspondence of Greek téktōn with Vedic Sanskrit takṣan-, Avestan tašan- —all other outcomes of this supposed root can be accounted for as *teḱ-s-, an extended form of *teḱ-. To explain this anomaly, Andrew Sihler (New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, Oxford, 1995, p. 225) hypothesizes that téktōn is a conflation of a regular derivative *texōn and an unattested agentive derivative *téktōr, going back to *teks-tor-, (with cluster simplification as in hektós "sixth" corresponding to héx "six"). Traditionally added to the compared forms given in the etymology above are Latin texere "to weave, form by plaiting or twining, construct" and other words (see at text entry 1). See also technical entry 1.

First Known Use

1894, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of tectonic was in 1894

Dictionary Entries Near tectonic

Cite this Entry

“Tectonic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tectonic. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

tectonic

adjective
tec·​ton·​ic tek-ˈtän-ik How to pronounce tectonic (audio)
: of or relating to tectonics
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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