cromlech
Meanings
- Synonym of stone circle (“a prehistoric monument consisting of standing stones arranged in a circle”), especially one located in Brittany, France.
- synonym of altar tomb or dolmen (“a prehistoric megalithic tomb consisting of a (somewhat) flat capstone lying horizontally on two or more upright stones”), especially one located in Wales, but also in England (chiefly Cornwall and Devon) or Ireland.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Celtic *krumbos Proto-Brythonic *krum Middle Welsh crwm Welsh crom Proto-Indo-European *pleth₂-? Proto-Indo-European *pel-? Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂-der. Proto-Indo-European *pl̥keh₂der. Proto-Celtic *ɸlikkā Proto-Brythonic *llex Middle Welsh llech Welsh llech Welsh cromlechbor. English cromlech Borrowed from Welsh cromlech, from crom (the feminine singular form of crwm (“bent, bowed, curved”), ultimately from Proto-Celtic *krumbos (“bent, crooked”) and Proto-Germanic *krumpaz (“bent, crooked, curved”); further etymology uncertain) + llech (“flagstone, slab of stone”) (ultimately from Proto-Celtic *ɸlikkā (“(flat) stone”) and Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂- (“flat”)). Sense 1 (“stone circle”) is from Breton cromlec'h, krommlec'h probably from Welsh cromlech: see above.