sarsen
Americannoun
noun
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geology a boulder of silicified sandstone, probably of Tertiary age, found in large numbers in S England
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such a stone used in a megalithic monument
Etymology
Origin of sarsen
1635–45; syncopated variant of Saracen, short for Saracen boulder Druid stone
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Other analysts say the sarsen stones may have served as a giant solar calendar so that people knew the time of year.
From Washington Post • May 31, 2022
Each sarsen stone needed at least 1,000 people to transport it over a distance of 15 miles.
From New York Times • Feb. 17, 2022
Stonehenge’s familiar ring of vertical standing stones are made of sarsen — a local sandstone weighing roughly 25 tons each.
From Washington Post • Apr. 1, 2021
Researchers have pinpointed the origin of Stonehenge’s giant sarsen stones after a sample that was taken from the site more than 60 years ago was finally returned.
From Nature • Jul. 29, 2020
By his feet was a rounded boulder-stone, brown and smooth, a hard sarsen; this he tried to move, but it was so heavy that he could but just stir it.
From Wood Magic A Fable by Jefferies, Richard
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
