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n. A Neolithic tomb consisting of two or more upright stones with a capstone, believed to have been buried in earth except for a central opening. [French (introduced in 1792 as a technical term by Théophile Malo de La Tour d'Auvergne-Corret, French soldier and antiquarian ), either from Cornish dolmen, form (with grammatical mutation of the initial consonant) of tolmen, dolmen, literally "hole of stone" (Cornish tol, hole (since people or animals can pass under a dolmen); akin to Welsh twll and Old Irish toll + Cornish men, stone; akin to Breton maen; see MENHIR), or from misinterpretation of Breton *daolvaen, form (with grammatical mutation of the initial consonant) of *taolvaen, literally, "table of stone" (Breton taol, table from Middle Breton, from Latin tabula, board + Breton maen, stone; see MENHIR).]  (click for a larger image) dolmenKilclooney Dolmen near Ardara, County Donegal, Ireland |
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