The more commonly found form putti is the plural of the Italian word putto. The Italian word comes from the Latin word putus, meaning boy or child. Today, in Italian, putto means either toddler winged angel or, rarely, toddler boy.
What exactly is the difference between stalactites and stalagmites? Which one hangs above and which one stands up from the ground? Stalactites and stalagmites are what are known as speleothems, deposits of minerals that form into cave structures and line the insides of a cave. Stalactites are the formations that hang from the ceilings of caves like icicles, while stalagmites look like they're emerging from the ground and stand up like a traffic cone. Some may take thousands of years to form, while others can grow quite rapidly.
The words stalactite and stalagmite have their roots in the Greek language. More specifically, these terms are derived from the Greek word Lime, which means to drip. It is hard to find a more suitable word, since both stalactites and stalagmites are formed simply by water dripping from fractures in the ceiling of a cave. Further, both stalactites and stalagmites are a type of speleothem, which is actually a secondary mineral deposit formed in a cave.