DOLMEN Definition & Meaning

dolmen

[ dohl-men, -muhn, dol- ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

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.

dolmen

/ ˈ��ɒ��ɛ�� /

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

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Other 51�Թ� Forms

��Ǳ�·��·�� [dohl-, men, -ik, dol-], adjective

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of dolmen¹

First recorded in 1855–60; from French, from Cornish, form of tolmen “hole of stone” (taken by French archaeologists to mean cromlech ), from toll “hole” (compare Irish toll, Welsh twll ) + men “s�ٴǲԱ�” ( menhir ); alternatively, perhaps from a corruption of Breton taol “table” (from Latin tabula; table ) + maen “s�ٴǲԱ�”

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of dolmen¹

C19: from French, probably from Old Breton tol table, from Latin tabula board + Breton ��ŧ�� stone, of Celtic origin; see table

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

In all likelihood, the people buried in the dolmen were farmers.

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The first of these periods, which corresponds to the Neolithic, coincides with a spread in the use of dolmens designed for collective burials.

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In ink and watercolor, Lundbye portrays an artist drawing the coastal landscape outdoors, as he leans back against a funerary dolmen with sketchpad in hand.

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In several landscapes, including Lundbye’s, a distinctive nonnatural element recurs: a prehistoric stone structure of upright boulders with a capstone known as a dolmen.

From

It wasn’t long before his team dug up the dolmen’s entryway, a portal so narrow that the structure could have been built by benevolent giants for a colony of hobbits.

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