dolmen
nounUK /ˈdəʊ̯l.mən/ · CA, US /ˈdoʊ̯l.mən/
Etymology Borrowed from French dolmen. Perhaps incorrectly fabricated from Breton taol maen (taol (“table”) + maen (“stone”)) (the correct compound would be *taolvaen, not **daolmaen). An alternative theory states the French term derives instead from Cornish tolmen, from toll (“hole”) + men (“stone”); compare the name of the Cornish standing stones Men an Toll. See also menhir.
1
Historical A prehistoric megalithic tomb consisting of a capstone supported by two or more upright stones, most having originally been covered with earth or smaller stones to form a barrow.
- They are expert smiths and coiners; they are said to have great treasures in the dolmen in which they dwell, and of which they are regarded as the builders.1850, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, London: H.G. Bohn, page 432:
2
Broadly Any megalithic tomb, including passage graves and wedge tombs.