dolmen (English)

Where does "dolmen" come from?

The English noun 'dolmen' was borrowed from French 'dolmen'[1]. The French term is perhaps incorrectly fabricated from Breton 'taol maen', meaning 'table' and 'stone'[1]. In this Breton phrase, 'taol' derives from Latin 'tabula' through Proto-Brythonic '*tavol'[2], while 'maen' traces back through Middle Breton 'men' and Old Breton 'main' to Proto-Celtic '*maginos'[3].

Open questions

• The French term may have been incorrectly fabricated from Breton elements resulting in an irregular compound. [1]

Full etymology tree

• dolmen (English), '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.'
  • borrowed dolmen (French), 'dolmen (tomb consisting of a capstone supported by two or more upright stones)'
    • derived taol maen (Breton)
      • compound taol (Breton), 'table'
        • inherited *tavol (Proto-Brythonic)
          • borrowed tabula (Latin), 'tablet, sometimes a tablet covered with wax for writing'
      • compound maen (Breton), 'stone'
        • inherited men (Middle Breton)
          • inherited main (Old Breton)
            • inherited *maɣɨn (Proto-Brythonic), 'stone'
              • inherited *maginos (Proto-Celtic), 'stone'

Ancestors

• dolmen (French)

Sources

1. dolmen (English) - Wiktionary
2. taol (Breton) - Wiktionary
3. maen (Breton) - Wiktionary

Updated October 2026

More words starting with D

Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris