dolmen

[ dohl-men, -muhn, dol- ]

/ ˈdoʊl mɛn, -mən, ˈdɒl- /

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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

How to use dolmen in a sentence

Near the station of Sens, in France, there is a curious dolmen, on one of whose upright stones or props are carved two human feet.
Roman Mosaics|Hugh Macmillan
Grey dolmen and grey menhir already stand there, by the last shores, memorials of his destiny.
The Divine Adventure etc. (Works vol. 4)|Fiona Macleod
The custom of burning the body commenced in the Stone Age, before the long barrow or the dolmen had passed out of use.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 3|Various
A brown shadow moved in the bracken near the dolmen, a brown face peered with infinite caution, round a flank of the great stones.
Mount Music|E. Oe. Somerville and Martin Ross

Occasionally legend assists us to prove the mortuary character of menhir and dolmen.
Legends & Romances of Brittany|Lewis Spence

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