Dictionary

trilithon en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈtɹaɪ.lɪ.θɔn/

Etymology

From Ancient Greek τρίλιθος (trílithos, “of three stones”). Compare the Baalbek trilithon.

Meanings

1. A structure consisting of two stone pillars supporting a horizontal stone.
   • […]thus the two opposite trilithons which are nearest to the north-west or grand entrance, were 19 feet in height, the two next opposite trilithons correspond in the height of 20 feet 3 inches, and the trilithon at the back of the stone of astronomic observation, or as erringly called the Altar-stone, raised its ascent to the astonishing height of 25 feet. 1846, Edward Duke, The Druidical Temples of the County of Wilts, page 158:
   • […]whereas the four-square gallows would have been more likely to suggest to his contemporary Blake, who normally used symbolism for its own sake, a resemblance to one of the four-square trilitha at Stonehenge. 2009, John Beer, Romanticism, Revolution and Language: The Fate of the Word from Samuel Johnson to George Eliot, Cambridge University Press, page 84:
   • Within the sarsen circle are the five impressive trilithons, forming a horseshoe-shaped ring of huge stones. 2007, Brad Olsen, Sacred Places Europe: 108 Destinations, Consortium of Collective Consciousness, page 45:
   • The two trilithons forming the wall on each side of the cella therefore pass on the mutual neighbourhood to each other, despite the fact that they are set a slight distance apart. But owing to the oblique placing of the pair of trilithons nearest the head-end the spread is greatly reduced on that side; the head-trilithon stands at the exact spot where it ceases. 1983, Hans van der Laan, Architectonic Space: Fifteen Lessons on the Disposition of the Human Habitat, page 193:

Forms

Meronyms

posts · lintel

Relateds

cromlech · menhir

Synonyms

trilith (two stone pillars supporting a third stone)

wikipedia: Stonehenge