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tholos

American  
[thoh-los, -lohs] / ˈθoʊ lɒs, -loʊs /

noun

plural

tholoi
  1. (in classical architecture)

    1. a circular building.

    2. a small, round structure, as a lantern.

    3. a circular subterranean tomb, lined with masonry.

  2. a subterranean domed tomb chamber of the Mycenaean age.


tholos British  
/ ˈθəʊlɒs /

noun

  1. a dry-stone beehive-shaped tomb associated with the Mycenaean culture of Greece in the 16th to the 12th century bc

"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

Etymology

Origin of tholos

First recorded in 1895–1900, tholos is from the Greek word thólos literally, rotunda

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.

The memorial to vaudeville entertainer Al Jolson stands dramatically at the top of a hill inside this notable Culver City cemetery and is inspired by the forms of an ancient Greek tholos, a circular structure capped by a dome — a structure that Williams transforms into something thoroughly Modern.

From Los Angeles Times

Both were originally built in a beehive shape known as a tholos but had collapsed.

From New York Times

The two new tholos tombs were discovered by Jack L. Davis and Sharon R. Stocker, a husband and wife team of archaeologists at the University of Cincinnati who have been working at the site since 1992.

From New York Times

Both the Griffin Warrior and the two tholos tombs belong on a pottery-based time scale to a period known as Late Helladic IIA, which lasted from 1600 to 1500 B.C.E., although the exact dates are disputed.

From New York Times

Also, monumental architecture, including many tholos tombs, was excavated at Mycene in the 19th century.

From New York Times