cromlech en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /-lək/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈkɹɒmlɛk/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈkɹɑmˌlɛk/ (General-American)
- /-lɛx/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /-ləx/ (Received-Pronunciation) following the pronunciation in Wales
- /ˈkɹɒmːlɛx/ (Wales)
- (Southern-England) audio
- (General-American) audio
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”). Sense 1 (“stone circle”) is from Breton cromlec'h, krommlec'h probably from Welsh cromlech: see above.
Meanings
- Synonym of stone circle (“a prehistoric monument consisting of standing stones arranged in a circle”), especially one located in Brittany, France.
-
(UK, Wales) 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.
The scenes depicted on the emunctory field, showing our ancient duns and raths and cromlechs and grianauns and seats of learning and maledictive stones, are as wonderfully beautiful and the pigments as delicate as when the Sligo illuminators gave free rein to their artistic fantasy long long ago in the time of the Barmecides.
1922 February 2, James Joyce, “[Episode 12: Cyclops]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company […], →OCLC, part II [Odyssey], page 318:The korreds are supposed to live in the cromlechs, of which they are believed to have been the builders. They dance around them at night, and betide the unhappy peasant who joins them in their roundels.
1881, Wirt Sikes, British Goblins, Boston: James R. Osgood and Company, page 381:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| cromlechs | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Synonyms
stone circle · bowing stone · altar tomb or dolmen
Translations (30)
fr cromlec'h (synonym of dolmen (cognates) — see also dolmen, monolith, megalith, obelisk, menhir) · et kromlehh (synonym of dolmen (cognates) — see also dolmen, monolith, megalith, obelisk, menhir) · es crómlech (synonym of dolmen (cognates) — see also dolmen, monolith, megalith, obelisk, menhir) · de Kromlech (synonym of dolmen (cognates) — see also dolmen, monolith, megalith, obelisk, menhir) · ka კრომლეხი (synonym of dolmen (cognates) — see also dolmen, monolith, megalith, obelisk, menhir) · lt kromlechas (synonym of dolmen (cognates) — see also dolmen, monolith, megalith, obelisk, menhir) · pt cromeleque (synonym of dolmen (cognates) — see also dolmen, monolith, megalith, obelisk, menhir) · br cromlec'h (synonym of dolmen (cognates) — see also dolmen, monolith, megalith, obelisk, menhir) · sh krȍmleh (synonym of dolmen (cognates) — see also dolmen, monolith, megalith, obelisk, menhir) · gd cromleac (synonym of dolmen (cognates) — see also dolmen, monolith, megalith, obelisk, menhir) · pl kromlech (synonym of dolmen (cognates) — see also dolmen, monolith, megalith, obelisk, menhir) · cy cromlech (synonym of dolmen (cognates) — see also dolmen, monolith, megalith, obelisk, menhir) · el κρόμλεχ (synonym of dolmen (cognates) — see also dolmen, monolith, megalith, obelisk, menhir) · eu cromlech (synonym of dolmen (cognates) — see also dolmen, monolith, megalith, obelisk, menhir) · eo kromleĥo (synonym of dolmen (cognates) — see also dolmen, monolith, megalith, obelisk, menhir) · sh кро̏млех (synonym of dolmen (cognates) — see also dolmen, monolith, megalith, obelisk, menhir) · oc cromlec (synonym of dolmen (cognates) — see also dolmen, monolith, megalith, obelisk, menhir) · sk kromlech (synonym of dolmen (cognates) — see also dolmen, monolith, megalith, obelisk, menhir) · ru кро́млех (synonym of dolmen (cognates) — see also dolmen, monolith, megalith, obelisk, menhir) · it cromlech (synonym of dolmen (cognates) — see also dolmen, monolith, megalith, obelisk, menhir) · sh кро̏млек (synonym of dolmen (cognates) — see also dolmen, monolith, megalith, obelisk, menhir) · fi cromlech (synonym of dolmen (cognates) — see also dolmen, monolith, megalith, obelisk, menhir) · cs kromlech (synonym of dolmen (cognates) — see also dolmen, monolith, megalith, obelisk, menhir) · de Cromlech (synonym of dolmen (cognates) — see also dolmen, monolith, megalith, obelisk, menhir) · sh krȍmlek (synonym of dolmen (cognates) — see also dolmen, monolith, megalith, obelisk, menhir) · ca cromlec (synonym of dolmen (cognates) — see also dolmen, monolith, megalith, obelisk, menhir) · es crónlech (synonym of dolmen (cognates) — see also dolmen, monolith, megalith, obelisk, menhir) · fr cromlech (synonym of dolmen (cognates) — see also dolmen, monolith, megalith, obelisk, menhir) · hy կրոմլեխ (synonym of dolmen (cognates) — see also dolmen, monolith, megalith, obelisk, menhir) · kw krommlegh (synonym of dolmen (cognates) — see also dolmen, monolith, megalith, obelisk, menhir)