menhir

menhir
/men"hir/, n. Archaeol.
an upright monumental stone standing either alone or with others, as in an alignment, found chiefly in Cornwall and Brittany.
[1830-40; < Breton phrase men hir, equiv. to men stone + hir long]

* * *

Type of ancient megalithic stone monument (see megalith).

Menhirs were simple upright stones, sometimes of great size, erected chiefly in Western Europe. Arrangements of menhirs often form vast circles, semicircles, or ellipses. Many were built in Britain, the best-known sites being Stonehenge and Avebury in Wiltshire. Menhirs were also placed in parallel rows, called alignments, the most famous being the Carnac alignments in northwestern France, with 2,935 menhirs. These were probably used for ritual processions.

* * *

      megalithic monument erected singly or in formations. See megalith.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Menhir — Menhir …   Deutsch Wörterbuch

  • Menhir — ist eine ursprünglich bretonische Bezeichnung für einen aufgerichteten „mehr oder minder großen“ Monolithen und bedeutet „langer Stein“ (maen = Stein, hir = lang). Diese Bezeichnung fand bereits Ende des 18. Jahrhunderts Eingang in die… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • menhir — [ menir ] n. m. • 1807; mot bas bret., de men « pierre » et hir « longue » ♦ Monument mégalithique, pierre allongée dressée verticalement (cf. Pierre levée). Menhirs disposés en rangées (⇒ alignement) , en cercle (⇒ cromlech) . ● menhir nom… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • menhir — MENHÍR, menhire, s.n. Monument megalitic (funerar sau de cult, întâlnit mai ales în provincia Bretagne şi în sudul Angliei) de la sfârşitul epocii neolitice, construit dintr un bloc înalt de piatră necioplită, aşezat vertical, izolat sau în grup …   Dicționar Român

  • Menhir — Sm vorgeschichtlich aufgerichteter Stein per. Wortschatz fach. (20. Jh.) Entlehnung. Entlehnt aus frz. menhir, dieses aus bret. maen hir, zu bret. maen Stein und bret. hir lang .    Ebenso nndl. menhir, ne. menhir, nfrz. menhir. Vgl. Dolmen.… …   Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

  • Menhir — (Penvénan,Франция) Категория отеля: Адрес: 16 rue du Menhir, 22710 Penvénan, Франция …   Каталог отелей

  • menhir — (Del fr. menhir, y este del bretón menhir, der. de men, piedra e hir, larga). m. Monumento megalítico que consiste en una piedra larga hincada verticalmente en el suelo …   Diccionario de la lengua española

  • menhir — (n.) upright monumental stone, 1834, lit. long stone, from Fr. menhir (19c.), from Breton men stone + hir long, from PIE *se ro , from root *se long, late (see SOIREE (Cf. soiree)). Cognate with Welsh maen hir, Cornish medn hir …   Etymology dictionary

  • Menhir — Men hir, n. [F. Armor. men stone + hir high.] A large stone set upright in olden times as a memorial or monument. Many, of unknown date, are found in Brittany and throughout Northern Europe. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • menhir — s. m. Ver menir …   Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa

  • menhir — mènhīr m <G menhíra> DEFINICIJA prapovijesni grubo klesani uspravni kameni blok (u Cornwallu i Bretanji); megalit ETIMOLOGIJA bret. men hir ≃ men: kamen + hir: dugačak …   Hrvatski jezični portal

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”