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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-/, adjectiveWords nearby dolmen
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use dolmen in a sentence
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
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