Calthemite is a secondary deposit, derived from concrete, lime, mortar or other calcareous material outside the cave environment. Calthemites grow on or under, man-made structures and mimic the shapes and forms of cave speleothems, such as  stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone etc. Calthemite is derived from the Latin calx (genitive calcis) "lime" + Latin < Greek théma, "deposit" meaning ‘something laid down’, (also Mediaeval Latin thema, "deposit") and the Latin –ita < Greek -itēs – used as a suffix indicating a mineral or rock. The term "speleothem", due to its definition (spēlaion "cave" + théma "deposit" in ancient Greek) can only be used to describe secondary deposits in caves and does not include secondary deposits outside the cave environment.