megalith

English
WOTD – 22 October 2023

Etymology
PIE word
*méǵh₂s
Megaliths (sense 1.1) of Avebury in Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom.

From mega- (prefix meaning ‘very large, great’) +‎ -lith (suffix meaning ‘stone’), a back-formation from megalithic[1] probably modelled after monolith.[2]

Pronunciation
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈmɛɡəlɪθ/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈmɛɡəˌlɪθ/
  • Hyphenation: meg‧a‧lith

Noun

megalith (plural megaliths)

  1. (archaeology)
    1. A large stone slab making up a prehistoric monument, or part of such a monument.
    2. A prehistoric monument made up of one or more large stones.
  2. (by extension) A large stone or block of stone used in the construction of a modern structure.

Hyponyms

Holonyms

Derived terms

Translations

See also

References
  1. “megalith, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  2. “megalith, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, July 2023.

Further reading
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