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dolmen

[ dohl-men, -muhn, dol- ]
/ ˈdoʊl mɛn, -mən, ˈdɒl- /

noun Archaeology.

a structure usually regarded as a tomb, consisting of two or more large, upright stones set with a space between and capped by a horizontal stone.

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Also called portal tomb .
Compare chamber tomb.

Origin of dolmen

1855–60; <French <Cornish, lenited form of tolmen hole of stone (taken by French archeologists to mean cromlech)

OTHER WORDS FROM dolmen

dol·men·ic [dohl-men-ik, dol-], /doʊlˈmɛn ɪk, dɒl-/, adjective

Words nearby dolmen

Dolly Varden, Dolly Varden pattern, dolma, dolman, dolman sleeve, dolmen, Dolmetsch, Dolní Věstonice, Dolobid, dolomite, dolomite marble
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for dolmen

British Dictionary definitions for dolmen

dolmen
/ (ˈdɒlmɛn) /

noun

(in British archaeology) a Neolithic stone formation, consisting of a horizontal stone supported by several vertical stones, and thought to be a tomb
(in French archaeology) any megalithic tomb

Word Origin for dolmen

C19: from French, probably from Old Breton tol table, from Latin tabula board + Breton mēn stone, of Celtic origin; see table
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012